Antinomianism – What is it?

from the old testament

• The Mosaic Law was given to the Israelites, but long before it, God showed that obeying Him is fundamental to a relationship with Him. In Genesis 18:19, the LORD says of Abraham, “I have chosen him so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice.”
• The moral law was not a means of relationship but the proper expression of a relationship with God. The order is first, be in relationship with God and second, obey Him. God set specific rules for how His people were to live to stay in relationship with Him. Those commandments, known as the Mosaic Law, are summarized in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20). Though given as part of the Mosaic Law, they were not unique to the Israelites because they flowed from God’s unchanging moral character. Commands like “You shall not murder,” “You shall not commit adultery,” and “You shall not bear false witness” are rooted in God’s nature and are affirmed throughout Scripture. These commands reflect God’s holiness and justice (Leviticus 19:2).
• Psalm 119 celebrates the beauty and value of God’s law. The author writes, “Oh how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day” (Psalm 119:97). God’s commands are never intended to weigh His people down. Instead, obeying God is described as life-giving (Leviticus 18:5).
• Israel regularly disobeyed, and He tired of their feigned obedience. Micah 6:8 summarizes God’s heart desire: “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” God’s command is summarized as doing what is good (being just, kind, loving, and walking humbly). That was the intention of the Mosaic Law, not just a collection of random laws to obey.
• Even under the Old Covenant, God wanted inward obedience, not outward conformity. Moses, through whom the Mosaic Law was given, said, “Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn” (Deuteronomy 10:16). The laws were meant to be obeyed from the heart.

from the new testament

• Paul anticipates the antinomian objection in Romans 6:1-2. He points out the folly that someone can claim to have their sins forgiven by Jesus (Romans 5:21) and then just sin more since He paid for all sin, anyway. Such a heart is still rebellious and thinks little of the cost of sin. Salvation enables a new life marked by holiness.
• Jesus affirms the ongoing authority of God’s moral standards. In Matthew 5:17-19, He says, “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.” Jesus intensified the moral commands of the Mosaic Law by showing that obedience is an internal, heart issue (e.g., anger equals murder, lust equals adultery, and so forth).
• John, writing to believers who were being tempted to sin because of a low view of Jesus, emphasized that a life of faith must include obedience (1 John 2:3). Claiming to know Christ while willfully disobeying Him is deception.
• John makes a hard statement about those who willfully disobey the law; those who do not obey (“practice righteousness”) are children of Satan, not God (1 John 3:10).
• Believers aren’t perfect, but they will strive to sin less and less. Paul wrote that grace “instructs us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and in a godly manner in the present age” (Titus 2:11-12). True grace—grace that has resulted in a true believer—teaches us how to obey, but we must apply what we know to our lives.
• James rebukes “dead faith.” He said, “Faith, if it has no works, is dead” (James 2:17). He was not saying that obedience leads to salvation but that those who claim to be saved will, necessarily, obey. It’s part of their new DNA. Any claim to faith that does not result in obedience (works) is a dead (false) claim.
• Paul said that the “righteous requirement of the law” is fulfilled by those “who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:4). Far from no longer needing to obey the law once saved, the Spirit enables believers to obey it.
• Finally, Hebrews 12:14 reminds us to “strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” Obedience is not optional—it is the fruit of saving grace.

implications for today

The term antinomian comes from two Greek words: anti (against) and nomos (law). An Antinomian, then, is someone who is against obeying God’s laws. They claim that God saves by grace and not by obedience, so they feel free from even God’s moral laws. While they rightly understand that salvation is by grace alone, they miss that 1) even the Old Testament saints were saved by grace and not because they obeyed the Mosaic law and 2) God demands His children to live righteously, which means obeying Him.

Antinomianism is alive and well in many Christian circles, often cloaked in the language of grace. But grace does not free us from obedience; it frees us to obey. A Christian who lives with no concern for God’s commands has misunderstood the gospel itself and has real reason to be concerned about the genuineness of his or her salvation.

While we are not under the Mosaic Law, we are still called to reflect God’s holy character which shines through all of His commands to us. That includes honoring what He has declared to be right and wrong because His moral standards are not outdated or optional.

True faith results in transformation. The same grace that forgives us also trains us to say no to sin and yes to righteousness. This doesn’t mean we will obey perfectly. Take heart: True believers need continual forgiveness (1 John 1:8-10), but we will move more and more toward holiness over time.

If we minimize God’s moral law, we cheapen grace and redefine love. Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15). Those are literally words to live by.