Lawless Christianity Part I: Introduction

This blog is where I will post refutations of theological errors and heresies which I have come face to face with. I street witness and evangelize often, so I hear a lot of bad theology. This first entry is one I mostly wrote in the Spring of 2016 after a year of research. I do not presume that I am absolutely correct on every point I make, so if you feel as if I need to be corrected, please let me know. I invite you to think critically with an open Bible, but do not simply give me a bunch of your opinion. Please do your homework from scripture and bring a robust case to the table. You can contact me here: justin.hornbaker@gmail.com

Introduction

In the world of apologetics there are different categories. Defending the faith has not only to do with giving thoughtful answers to those who do not believe, but also to those who do. We should think carefully not only of our reasons for believing the basics of the faith, but we should also carefully vet every theological teaching we are exposed to. Since discernment is simply learning to separate truth from error, this discipline naturally falls into the ranks of apologetics.

I want fellow Christ followers to read and investigate the things I point out here. The concerns I will be writing about are not meant to attack any person, but instead to fuel a much needed examination of an old refurbished heresy. I want the reader to take a step back, check everything against our ultimate standard, God’s Word, and use it as a means of purging the false ideas which they may hold.

With that said, I first need to put forward that I am convinced there is a lack of critical thinking in popular evangelical culture today. The first reason is simply that people do not know their Bible well enough to discern truth from error; everyone who calls themselves a Christian needs to get familiar with the God they claim to be associated with. The second reason seems to be at least partially due to the neglect of sound discipleship. Christianity 101 should include apologetics, basic logic, logical fallacies and careful thinking. Once these foundations are laid, it’s much more difficult for that disciple of Christ to be fooled by clever lies taught within the walls of a local church.

I want to challenge each Christian who finds themselves concerned about the issues I write about here to do their own homework, because it should become obvious to them after responsible researching whether or not they are in a place that teaches these ideas. If you call yourself a Christian, you should be concerned about these things because it’s our daily goal to be renewing our mind to Christ, and if we are being deceived about that process (also called sanctification), we should be moved to seek out and expose that.

Disclaimer

Since this topic revolves around God’s Moral Law I've found that it's very necessary to start with a theological disclaimer. If at any point during the article you find yourself thinking “legalism,” or salvation by keeping God’s law, you should come back to this paragraph to get back on track. Legalism is certainly a serious error, but it is the error which falls on the other end of the spectrum from the one I am assessing in this writing. I am at no point in my discussion here claiming the event of salvation or justification is tied to law-keeping. Justification is the event when a person believes the Gospel of Jesus Christ and moves from being dead in their sin to being alive in the righteousness of Christ.

Justification is the foundation for which our sanctification begins, and it’s the event which we continually look back to as we grow in the spirit, but it’s not the same as sanctification. You will see as I go on that antinomians get these two distinct doctrines confused. So, for the sake of clarity I will include a helpful chart below which was provided by a brother in Christ. Please refer to this chart if you have trouble grasping the difference between justification and sanctification:

Justification	Sanctification
Legal Standing (before God)	Internal Condition
Once for All Time	Continuous Through Life
Solely a Work of God	A Work of God and Man
Perfect in this Life	Not Perfected until Death (or Christ’s Return)
The Same in All Christians	Greater in Some than Others

Christ’s Moral Law

One can get into a lot of discussion over how to distinguish God’s moral laws from the civil or ceremonial laws found in the Old Testament, and which moral laws are meant to be under the banner of Christ’s Law. I’m sure an entire article could be set aside for this issue, and certainly entire books have already been written about it.

Here I will be defining the moral laws which are relevant to the Christian as any moral statute taught by Jesus or the Apostles in the New Testament (or New Covenant), as well as any moral principle gleaned from the Old Testament which is filtered through, and consistent with, the moral statutes taught in the New Testament. Since Christ came to fulfill not only the civil and ceremonial laws, but also the purely moral laws given to the Jews, the New Testament sets the reference point for the Law of Christ (aka Christ’s Law or The Law of Love). We interpret what is relevant for the Christian through the New Testament and not the other way around. There are many clear examples of specifics in Christ’s Law such as 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.

I don’t expect universal agreement to this general definition, but I believe it’s sufficient for this writing.



To be continued... (Part 1 of 7)



Originally titled "Antinomianism: A Self-Refuting Heresy."