Have you ever heard of the action figure Stretch Armstrong? Stretch was a popular 70's toy superhero made of a gel-like substance. Though he was a mere foot tall Stretch Armstrong could still be wrenched and pulled far beyond his proper shape.
Stretching a toy beyond its intended shape is one thing, but doing the same with foundational, biblical doctrines is dangerous. You see, when misinformed Christian teachers stretch the gospel doctrine of grace beyond biblical boundaries the theological Stretch Armstrong of antinomianism raises its misshapen head. Martin Luther originated the term "antinomianism" to describe grace-stretching teaching. In this regard A. W. Tozer wrote:
The advocates of antinomianism in our times deserve our respect for at least one thing: their motive is good. Their error springs from their very eagerness to magnify grace and exalt the freedom of the gospel. They start right, but allow themselves to be carried beyond what is written by a slavish adherence to undisciplined logic. It is always dangerous to isolate a truth and then press it to its limit without regard to other truths (Paths To Power).
Antinomian teachers today abound. They are in every alleged Christian bookstore, on every radio station and occupy churches and pulpits in every city. As in Martin Luther's time, they twist and misinterpret scriptural grace so that obeying Christ is lowered to only a suggestion. Even a "Christian" who is incestuous or murderous will be ushered into eternal paradise. We should obey reasons the antinomian, but obedience isn't essential to enter heaven. Consider the celebrated Tony Evans' antinomian notions:
You could also substitute other sins into this formula, such as homosexuality Christians may be performing in these unacceptable ways, but that's not who they are. It's an identity issue (Free At Last, p. 28).
Committed Christians may fall into sin, but a carnal Christian bathes in it. He has the mindset, motivation and methodology of sin...First of all, the carnal Christian is a genuine Christian. He has received Christ as Savior, but refuses to submit to Him and serve Him as Lord. Christ is not allowed to occupy the throne of a carnal life. It is possible to be on your way to heaven but be of no earthly good because you compromise your faith (Booklet: The Carnal Christian).
In this way antinomian theologians distort the scriptures and the gospel to fit their stretchy systems. "Once saved, always saved," they promise. "Carnal? Sexually immoral? Don't worry," they quip, "eternal salvation is not at stake." The popular notion that Christians are accepted in Christ by grace while engaging in disobedience to Christ in spite of grace screams, "Antinomianism!"
From Satan's promise: "ye shall not surely die" in Genesis chapter 3 to the false prophets who declared "Peace, peace" to sinners in Jeremiah 6:14 - antinomian promises deceived the unrepentant. And from Paul's warning about using liberty as an "occasion to the flesh" to those who changed "the grace of our God into lasciviousness" in the book of Jude - antinomianism distorted the gospel. And from James' "faith without works" to the condemned doctrines of the Baalamites and Jezebel in Revelation chapter 2, the scriptures wail like a siren against antinomianism. On the topic John Wesley warned:
Beware of Antinomianism this may steal upon you in a thousand forms, so that you cannot be too watchful against it. Take heed of everything, whether in principle or practice, which has any tendency thereto. Even that great truth, that 'Christ is the end of the law,' may betray us into it, if we do not consider that he has adopted every point of the moral law, and grafted it into the law of love (Wesley: A Plain Account of Christian Perfection, p. 52).
Today's evangelical Christian scene is replete with preaches who seem to have a zeal for God, but sadly, their zeal is not according to understanding. They howl, "Carnal? Don't worry your salvation is assured!" "Saved by works," they sneer, if some servant of the Lord insists that in order to be saved all must "pursue holiness because without it no one will see the Lord" (Heb 12:14). This, the lettered elite of modern, evangelical Christianity do to the exposing of their vibrant, antinomian colors. - 16890
Stretching a toy beyond its intended shape is one thing, but doing the same with foundational, biblical doctrines is dangerous. You see, when misinformed Christian teachers stretch the gospel doctrine of grace beyond biblical boundaries the theological Stretch Armstrong of antinomianism raises its misshapen head. Martin Luther originated the term "antinomianism" to describe grace-stretching teaching. In this regard A. W. Tozer wrote:
The advocates of antinomianism in our times deserve our respect for at least one thing: their motive is good. Their error springs from their very eagerness to magnify grace and exalt the freedom of the gospel. They start right, but allow themselves to be carried beyond what is written by a slavish adherence to undisciplined logic. It is always dangerous to isolate a truth and then press it to its limit without regard to other truths (Paths To Power).
Antinomian teachers today abound. They are in every alleged Christian bookstore, on every radio station and occupy churches and pulpits in every city. As in Martin Luther's time, they twist and misinterpret scriptural grace so that obeying Christ is lowered to only a suggestion. Even a "Christian" who is incestuous or murderous will be ushered into eternal paradise. We should obey reasons the antinomian, but obedience isn't essential to enter heaven. Consider the celebrated Tony Evans' antinomian notions:
You could also substitute other sins into this formula, such as homosexuality Christians may be performing in these unacceptable ways, but that's not who they are. It's an identity issue (Free At Last, p. 28).
Committed Christians may fall into sin, but a carnal Christian bathes in it. He has the mindset, motivation and methodology of sin...First of all, the carnal Christian is a genuine Christian. He has received Christ as Savior, but refuses to submit to Him and serve Him as Lord. Christ is not allowed to occupy the throne of a carnal life. It is possible to be on your way to heaven but be of no earthly good because you compromise your faith (Booklet: The Carnal Christian).
In this way antinomian theologians distort the scriptures and the gospel to fit their stretchy systems. "Once saved, always saved," they promise. "Carnal? Sexually immoral? Don't worry," they quip, "eternal salvation is not at stake." The popular notion that Christians are accepted in Christ by grace while engaging in disobedience to Christ in spite of grace screams, "Antinomianism!"
From Satan's promise: "ye shall not surely die" in Genesis chapter 3 to the false prophets who declared "Peace, peace" to sinners in Jeremiah 6:14 - antinomian promises deceived the unrepentant. And from Paul's warning about using liberty as an "occasion to the flesh" to those who changed "the grace of our God into lasciviousness" in the book of Jude - antinomianism distorted the gospel. And from James' "faith without works" to the condemned doctrines of the Baalamites and Jezebel in Revelation chapter 2, the scriptures wail like a siren against antinomianism. On the topic John Wesley warned:
Beware of Antinomianism this may steal upon you in a thousand forms, so that you cannot be too watchful against it. Take heed of everything, whether in principle or practice, which has any tendency thereto. Even that great truth, that 'Christ is the end of the law,' may betray us into it, if we do not consider that he has adopted every point of the moral law, and grafted it into the law of love (Wesley: A Plain Account of Christian Perfection, p. 52).
Today's evangelical Christian scene is replete with preaches who seem to have a zeal for God, but sadly, their zeal is not according to understanding. They howl, "Carnal? Don't worry your salvation is assured!" "Saved by works," they sneer, if some servant of the Lord insists that in order to be saved all must "pursue holiness because without it no one will see the Lord" (Heb 12:14). This, the lettered elite of modern, evangelical Christianity do to the exposing of their vibrant, antinomian colors. - 16890
About the Author:
Check out LaLond's book, The Lying Promise, for more on genuine gospel grace or Tony Evans. The Lying Promise takes on other tough, contemporaryChristian topics likeeternal security, counterfeit grace, repentance and biblical salvation.
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