Are you a lawless Christian?

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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.

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