1 John 2:4, "He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." Stout statement! The Apostle John was contending against a misunderstanding of the doctrine of grace and salvation. He opposed antinomian teachers who taught that forsaking a sinful life was optional for the believer. They declared that one can legitimately "know" God in a saving relationship and at the same time be indifferent to the commandments and will of God and disobey them. Those who make such a claim, John states under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, are liars and do not have the truth of God in them. The attempt to be justified through faith in Christ without a commitment to follow Christ is doomed to failure.
Confusion and heresy has arisen due to a misunderstanding of John 1:17, "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." The word 'but' does not appear in the original Greek., but that has been greatly ignored and interpreted to mean that now that Christ has come, the law is of no consequence whatever. Romans 6:14 is speaking of justification being by faith and not by the keeping of the Law, though it is often quoted to support the antinomian doctrine - As we shall see, there is law in the life of grace just as there was grace in the giving of the law. Indeed the law is so much a part of the Christan life that those who do not keep God's law have no reason to suppose they are Christians at all. (1 John 2:4) Dr. Lloyd-Jones writes, "If the 'grace' you have received does not help you to keep the law, you have not received grace."
What is meant by the 'law'? There are 3 basic categories of law, traditionally known as civic, ceremonial, and moral. The civic law was instituted by God under His theocratic rule, to deal with the sin of the Israelites. It was bound up in the OT economy, and is no longer in effect. Christ came to fulfill the ceremonial law in every detail. He was the Antitype of all types and shadows of the ceremonial law - the tabernacle and temple with all their furnishings, and especially the sacrificial offerings. By one sacrifice for sins forever, Jesus Christ has done away with the need for the ceremonial law!
But what of the moral law? Antinomianism is the view that the moral law (the 10 commandments) is not binding on the Christian as the rule of life. We present here the Biblical view - that the Moral Law, spiritually understood, is God's blueprint for Christian living. The Moral Law reflects God's own essential attributes. Obedience to God (because He is Creator) and to His Moral Law (because it reflects His sovereign will) lies at the heart of all true religion and thus of sanctification.
Becoming a Christian does not alter the fact that I am still a created being under obligation to obey. For those who insist that they don't need to obey the Law, let me ask you - are you free to steal? to kill? to commit adultery? to covet? dishonor your parents? take the name of God in vain? worship idols? The unregenerate heart will rebel against the authority of God and His holy Law. Conversion enables me to render to God that obedience of which I was incapable as an unbeliever. What is more, it grants me and over-riding desire to obey, since God is now also my Redeemer in Christ Jesus.
Raised with Christ to new life, we now love the same Law which once we hated. It is a sign of true conversion when a mans' heart is melted to love God's eternal Law and when his will is bent to obey." Once again, I am grateful for the many insights provided by Richard Alderson - No Holiness, No Heaven!
Confusion and heresy has arisen due to a misunderstanding of John 1:17, "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." The word 'but' does not appear in the original Greek., but that has been greatly ignored and interpreted to mean that now that Christ has come, the law is of no consequence whatever. Romans 6:14 is speaking of justification being by faith and not by the keeping of the Law, though it is often quoted to support the antinomian doctrine - As we shall see, there is law in the life of grace just as there was grace in the giving of the law. Indeed the law is so much a part of the Christan life that those who do not keep God's law have no reason to suppose they are Christians at all. (1 John 2:4) Dr. Lloyd-Jones writes, "If the 'grace' you have received does not help you to keep the law, you have not received grace."
What is meant by the 'law'? There are 3 basic categories of law, traditionally known as civic, ceremonial, and moral. The civic law was instituted by God under His theocratic rule, to deal with the sin of the Israelites. It was bound up in the OT economy, and is no longer in effect. Christ came to fulfill the ceremonial law in every detail. He was the Antitype of all types and shadows of the ceremonial law - the tabernacle and temple with all their furnishings, and especially the sacrificial offerings. By one sacrifice for sins forever, Jesus Christ has done away with the need for the ceremonial law!
But what of the moral law? Antinomianism is the view that the moral law (the 10 commandments) is not binding on the Christian as the rule of life. We present here the Biblical view - that the Moral Law, spiritually understood, is God's blueprint for Christian living. The Moral Law reflects God's own essential attributes. Obedience to God (because He is Creator) and to His Moral Law (because it reflects His sovereign will) lies at the heart of all true religion and thus of sanctification.
Becoming a Christian does not alter the fact that I am still a created being under obligation to obey. For those who insist that they don't need to obey the Law, let me ask you - are you free to steal? to kill? to commit adultery? to covet? dishonor your parents? take the name of God in vain? worship idols? The unregenerate heart will rebel against the authority of God and His holy Law. Conversion enables me to render to God that obedience of which I was incapable as an unbeliever. What is more, it grants me and over-riding desire to obey, since God is now also my Redeemer in Christ Jesus.
Raised with Christ to new life, we now love the same Law which once we hated. It is a sign of true conversion when a mans' heart is melted to love God's eternal Law and when his will is bent to obey." Once again, I am grateful for the many insights provided by Richard Alderson - No Holiness, No Heaven!