I'll continue the Westminster study, but I wrote this post for my facebook and I had to post it here too.
Antinomianism ('anti-law') is the belief that the keeping of the law no longer has any place in the faith and gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore this position seeks to allow that men who reject Jesus Christ by their ungodly lives and hard hearts can still yet have been born of God and be in Christ. This position is held with the banner of Faith Alone and Free Grace, but then ignores the New Birth as also a part of God's grace in salvation.
Thus sanctification is also rejected as a necessary result of being found in Christ. In other words it says, even if God justified one by Christ's blood, His blood doesn't promise sanctification ("becoming holy", or "being made Christ-like") to come with God's salvation.
This is a dangerous lie,
for it is written,
"And now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears we may have confidence and not shrink from Him in shame at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of Him. See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who thus hopes in Him purified Himself as He is pure."
"Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that He appeared to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen Him or known Him."
"Little children, let no one deceive you."
"Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as He is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in Him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother."
(1 John 2:26-3:1-10)
"God deliver us from Antinomianism! We do preach against Arminianism, but that is a white devil compared with the black devil of Antinomianism."
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These who proclaim the Christian's liberty, also cry out against those who say we need to obey God's commandments as well, crying "Legalism! Legalism!" But it's not legalism, it's Christianity! Christianity is not a moment in time, it is a life. James makes it very clear that if someone does not do good deeds, his faith is dead. Now this doesn't mean that one is justified by good works, or that it makes a person "better" in the sight of God, no, definitely no! But it is the necessary consequence of being saved, of being regenerated, of being born again and being a new creation. We are raised to newness of life, not the same, debauched oldness which we lived beforehand. We live a life of servitude and gratitude to God. Just as the child who loves his mother can't help but joyfully bring her a flower he finds, so the Christian who loves his God cannot but help trying, in every way he can, to please his Father.
We are free from the law in the sense that it no longer enslaves us and demands of us perfection in order to eternal life, but it doesn't mean the law is excluded. Rather, it means that we are now free to keep it out of love and gratitude. People need to be aware of this matter.
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