Are Christians Antinomian?

 

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he word Antinomian is not a term we use in everyday language. It is a theological word. It is a compound word. The prefix anti means against. The suffix is nomos which means law. So, an Antinomian is someone who is against the law. In particular the law of God. The apostle Paul was accused of teaching Antinomianism.

In Romans 8:1-2 we read:

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of the life in Christ Jesus has made us free from the law of sin and death.

The child of God should always give praise to God for this above reality. Because we are saved, we are also free from sin and death. To be judgment free speaks of the mighty power of God. Prior to Christ’s salvation we were bound by sin. Now we are free to serve God instead of sin. We have a new Master.

Sadly, many Christians have taken terrible advantage of God’s grace. They believe our freedom gives us license to sin; to do anything we want because we are in Christ and our salvation is secure.

Paul in Romans 6:1-12 says:

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized in Christ Jesus were baptized unto His death? Therefore were buried with Him in baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also walk in newness of life.

For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey its lusts.

The preceding twelve verses gives the believer the formula for a victorious Christian life.  Paul gives the child of God revelation knowledge of why Christ died: 1) to destroy sin’s power (vs 2). 2) To put to death the old man of sin in baptismal death (vs.2). 3) Provide us with new life in His resurrection (vs 5). As a result, we are to no longer serve sin and its evil desires but serve Christ (vs 12).

A Christian that lives anyway they want is an immature believer. A friend of mine long ago called that type of person a Fire Insurance Christian – a Christian that only wants salvation so they can escape hell. They have no desire to live holy and submitted to the law of Christ. A person who claims to have been a Christian for a while that lives anyway they want to need to examine themselves to see if they are truly in the faith (1 Cor 13:5).

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iving a lawless life as a Christian is an oxymoron. Freedom to sin is not freedom at all; its bondage. It’s the old unregenerate nature that Christ nailed to the cross when He died to destroy sin. A proud sinner is a Satan pleaser, not a Christian! 1 John 3:8 says he that practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifest that He might destroy the works of the devil.

Notice the word practice. When one practices something their intent is to become an expert at whatever they are practicing so you do it over and over again. Those who practice sin become masters of evil proving they do not belong to God, but to the devil. 1 John 3:7 says he who practices righteousness is righteous just as He is righteous.

So, Christians cannot live a life as an Antinomian. We are free in the sense that we are free to NOT serve sin but free to serve God in righteousness.

Let us not frustrate the grace of God and treat the death of Christ as something common by living ungodly. Remember, those who are in Christ are new creations. Old things have passed away; all things are new. We are not the same people anymore. Let’s act like it (2 Cor 5:17).

 

Is God Capricious?

 To know the true and living God is the greatest of all blessings. Proverbs 9:10 says, “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” To know God truly is to understand His nature; what brings Him joy, and what angers Him. For any relationship to be deep and intimate, one must learn about the one they claim to love. As believers we know the Lord. It must be an ongoing love affair with our Savior. The more we know Him, the more we understand His ways – how perfect they are- how imperfect and sinful we are. The closer we get to the Lord, the more our wretchedness is revealed to us. 

This should provide us with great comfort. Why? Because, despite our weaknesses, God still loves us, and delights in being our Father. He forgave our sins when we first trusted in Christ for our salvation, and He continually forgives our sins when we disobey now.  

What extraordinary grace! 

Sadly, most of the world is blinded to the goodness of God. As a result of this blindness, they have concluded the God of the Bible is a monster. Why? Well, look at all of the evil in our world today. The crime, murder of innocent children. Infants dying of diseases. The Coronavirus pandemic. Extreme poverty and homelessness and starvation. How can anyone say God is good when all this evil is prevailing in the world. Why doesn’t God stop all this madness?  

Because of all of the above, many have concluded that God is not loving, or all powerful. They say God does not care, and/or He does not have the power to do anything about it. But if He is powerful enough to get rid of all this evil and suffering and it continues, then He is capricious1. What is even worse there are those that say God is responsible for the world’s mess because He created it this way. In other words, God in his anger created a world of evil so that we would live in misery and pain. 

You see, those who do not know God have come up and will continue to say things that are antithetical to God’s nature – lies! You see why it is so important to study the Bible and know what God has revealed about Himself?  

In 2 Corinthians 3-4 we read this, “and if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God.” 

My Lord is not capricious. Genesis 1:31 said God looked at everything He made it was very good. So now we must discover what went so wrong. Why is the world the way it is? 

The Bible provides the answer. Our world is in ruin morally because of the disobedience of our first parents Adam and Eve. When they ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, their eyes were opened (Genesis 3:7). They experienced guilt and shame for the first time ever. They brought sin into the world. 

Their sin nature was imputed2 to all their descendants (Romans 5:12). That means you and me. Why? Because we are all in the loins of Adam when He committed the initial sin of treachery against the Lord.  

Because of this act of rebellion against God, we are currently in the mess we are in. And mankind from that infamous day up until the present day has continued to rebel against God which incurs God’s wrath. It is amazing to me that sinful man pridefully blames God for the evil in the world when he is the one that commits the evil. Why is man demanding God get rid of evil when man loves his sin? Here is what I have discovered, sinful man is the ultimate hypocrite. He loves his sin because he believes it does no harm. But he hates the sin of others – that is repulsive to him; even God’s “sins” in his corrupt mind. 

I have said it before, if you want God to get rid of evil now, God will have to get rid of all of us right now! God has not destroyed evil yet because evil is in man and God is long suffering toward rebellious man. Not willing that anyone should perish, but that all come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). 

God permitting evil and suffering is an ongoing act of mercy 

Even for the Christian the above declaration sounds ridiculous. How is all this pain and suffering and act of mercy by God? Because of the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, God has provided the perfect and only solution for mankind’s sin – one MUST place their faith in the completed atoning work of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 9:22). When one does this, they are free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). Let me explain, free from sin because Jesus washed away your sins with His own blood. We are free from the law of death because we have now inherited eternal life. 

At this point someone may disagree and say “wait a minute! What you Christians are saying is not true. Everyone still dies when they believe so how can the Bible say you are free from the law of sin and death?” Because our sins have been removed forever in a forensic or judicial sense by Christ, we can never be judged guilty for them. Jesus took the guilty plea and was punished by the Father on our behalf (Isaiah 53:5). So, when a believer dies, it is a graduation into glory not a punishment. Paul said it this way, “for me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). So why is death gain? 

Because when a believer dies, they are in presence of God. They literally see God the Father, Jesus Christ, the holy angels, and all the saints of God face to face in heaven. 

Death for the Christian is the manifestation of our hope being realized. The promises of God have been fulfilled. We have arrived at our final and eternal destination – glorification. When we know what God has and is doing for us, we do not get discouraged to the point of no hope. Why? Because God promised us that all of the pain and suffering the world is experiencing now will one day disappear. God will fix all that is broken. What man has ruined due his willful rebellion God will burn and make brand new (Revelation 21:1-5). 

Man’s rebellion is an affront to God. As a result, God reacts against that rebellion through causing and allowing pain, suffering, and death. God is arresting our attention to the fact that He is displeased. You see God could forgo His mercy and simply exercise His justice. If He did that, every human being would be sent straight to hell the moment they committed one sin. Thank God He allows the wickedness of man (for now) so that He can share His love for him in Jesus Christ so that we all can repent of their sins, believe the gospel, and receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior before one die in their sins and is lost forever.