There is an old rhyme that serves as something of an antinomian theme song. It says:
“Freed from the law, O blessed condition;
I can sin all I want and still have remission.”
Antinomianism literally means “anti-lawism.” It denies or downplays the significance of God’s law in the life of the believer. It is the opposite of its twin heresy, legalism.
Antinomians acquire their distaste for the law in a number of ways. Some believe that they no longer are obligated to keep the moral law of God because Jesus has freed them from it.
They insist that grace not only frees us from the curse of God’s law but delivers us from any obligation to obey God’s law. Grace then becomes a license for disobedience.
The astounding thing is that people hold this view despite Paul’s vigorous teaching against it.
Paul, more than any other New Testament writer, emphasized the differences between law and grace. He gloried in the New Covenant. Nevertheless, he was most explicit in his condemnation of antinomianism. In Romans 3:31 he writes, “Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.”
Adapted from: Sproul, R. C. (1992). Essential truths of the Christian faith. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.
“Freed from the law, O blessed condition;
I can sin all I want and still have remission.”
Antinomianism literally means “anti-lawism.” It denies or downplays the significance of God’s law in the life of the believer. It is the opposite of its twin heresy, legalism.
Antinomians acquire their distaste for the law in a number of ways. Some believe that they no longer are obligated to keep the moral law of God because Jesus has freed them from it.
They insist that grace not only frees us from the curse of God’s law but delivers us from any obligation to obey God’s law. Grace then becomes a license for disobedience.
The astounding thing is that people hold this view despite Paul’s vigorous teaching against it.
Paul, more than any other New Testament writer, emphasized the differences between law and grace. He gloried in the New Covenant. Nevertheless, he was most explicit in his condemnation of antinomianism. In Romans 3:31 he writes, “Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.”
Adapted from: Sproul, R. C. (1992). Essential truths of the Christian faith. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.