Are you a lawless Christian?

-
English: Illumination of Christ before Pilate ...
English: Illumination of Christ before Pilate Deutsch: Jesus vor Pilatus (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says
(James 1:22).
One of the gravest heresies in our day is the heresy of antinomianism. Antinomianism means “anti-law-ism.” Antinomianism teaches that Christians are free from any need to obey God’s law. Antinomianism lies behind the so-called 1980's “Lordship Controversy” which has been raging in many parts of evangelical Christianity for the past 30 years. Antinomians say that it is possible to have Jesus as Savior without bowing to Him as Lord. They say it is possible to believe in Christ and be saved, while never doing any good works at all. There are several reasons why this teaching is false.
First, we cannot divide Christ any more than we can divide God. Jesus is Savior and Lord. He is Lord because He is God, and He is also Lord because the Father has placed Him on the throne at His ascension. Anyone who rejects Christ as Lord has rejected Him as Savior as well. We either bow the knee to Him as Lord, or we don’t know Him at all. Jesus said, “Not everyone who said to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 7:21). These people even use the word “Lord,” but because they have not obeyed God’s law, they are damned.
Second, every covenant God makes has laws. Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15). Anyone who does not strive to obey God’s commands does not love Jesus, and clearly does not have Him as Savior. Not only the “Old Testament” contains laws from God; commands are found all over the Gospels and Epistles. Moreover, the God of the New Testament is the same as the God of the Old Testament. Christians dare not despise the books of Moses.
Certainly we are justified in God’s court by faith alone, apart from any works of ours. But anyone who is saved is placed in union with Christ. And in union with Christ we live out the Christian life in conformity to His laws. We who know God want to please Him, even though we stumble often.
James 1:22 says that those who do not seek to obey have deceived themselves. Antinomianism is a soul-damning error and leads only to destruction. Jesus said that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. That yoke is the entire law of God in the whole Bible. Is it a light burden? Yes, in the sense that God’s law perfectly conforms to our nature. When we obey Him, we find peace, joy, and personal fulfillment. Read and meditate on Psalm 119:97–104 today.

Related articles

Enhanced by Zemanta

Popular posts from this blog

Speaking in tongues for today - Charles Stanley

-
Image
There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. … But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all. … And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. … Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way - 1 Corinthians 12:4, 7, 28, 30—31 The Lord Jesus Christ had come and gone. The church—newly birthed—was in a transition time. The new covenant was seen as a threat to the Jewish leaders; therefore, there was persecution for those who had chosen to follow Christ. The new religion, in its infant stages, had no Bible, few leaders, and absolutely no support from the government. Astounding that it survived, isn’t it?  How in the world did it survive with so little going for it? Power. Not just a force, but mighty, visible power. Th...
Read more

What is the glory (kabod) of God?

-
Image
2 CORINTHIANS 4:17 "This light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison." Scripture places a high value on God 's glory, and it is not hard to figure out why. Since the inherent glory of the Lord is something that He will not share with others (Isa. 42:8), we know that His glory is something that He prizes highly; indeed, He prizes it more highly than anything else. We should, therefore, set the glory of God as the goal and overarching emphasis of our lives. Whatever we lose for the sake of making the Lord's glory known will be worth it when we see the dazzling light and beauty of; the divine glory (28:5; Rev. 21:23). Glory has to do with light and beauty, but those aspects do not sum up what the Bible means when it speaks of the glory of God. Interestingly, the Hebrew word kabod , which is translated into English as "glory," has the root meaning of "weight" or "heaviness....
Read more

The Holy Spirit causes us to cry out: Abba, Father

-
Image
Pentecostés. Óleo sobre lienzo, 275 × 127 cm. Madrid, Museo del Prado. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) To bring out the same truth in another way, Paul says God sent Jesus (as a Man) to live under the Law in order “to redeem those under law, that we [Jews and Gentiles ] might receive the full rights [adoption] of sons” ( Galatians 4:5).  By “full rights” or “adoption” he means entering into the privileges and responsibilities of sonship. He uses it also of the sonship of Israel (Romans 9:4). Galatians 4:1, 2 indicate that the son and heir of a wealthy family in Paul’s day would be treated as a slave until he became of age.  Then he would receive the adoption, that is, all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities that belonged to an adult member of that family. Adoption was also used in the modern sense, so that Gentiles who were not sons of Abraham became true heirs, true sons of God , by faith.  Jesus died, not just to save us from the fires of hell, bu...
Read more