Do you remember the 70’s toy superhero Stretch Armstrong? This toy muscle man was made of rubber and measured in at only about a foot tall. Even so Stretch Armstrong could be stretched and pulled far beyond his intended shape.
Stretching and pulling a toy? Fine. Stretching foundational Christian doctrines? Bad idea. Martin Luther called “grace” teaching which goes too far by the name “antinomianism.” Antinomianism is the “Stretch Armstrong” of theology. You see, when seriously mistaken, but quite often well meaning pastors and teachers stretch and contort the pure bible doctrines of grace beyond the bounds of scripture the Stretch Armstrong of antinomianism rears its grossly deformed head. In this regard A. W. Tozer wrote:
Advocates of antinomianism…start right, but allow themselves to be carried beyond what is written by a slave-like adherence to undisciplined logic. It is always dangerous to isolate a truth and then push 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:
The early church also contained examples of spiritual failure. The incestuous man in Corinth fell into a deep moral failure (see 1 Corinthians 5:1-5), but as we noted in a previous chapter, even in this case the man’s eternal salvation was not at stake (Totally Saved, p. 217).
Simply defined, carnality is a spiritual state in which a born-again Christian knowingly, willingly, intentionally and persistently lives to please and serve self rather than Jesus Christ…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!”
Antinomian assumptions seem plausible theologians distort the scriptures and the gospel to fit their stretchy systems. “You’re eternally secure!” they promise. “Carnality? Sexually illicit behaviour? No worries,” they promise, “eternal salvation is never at risk.” The popular notion that Christians are accepted in Christ by grace while engaging in disobedience to Christ in spite of grace screams, “Antinomianism !”
By faith we are saved from sin, and made holy. The imagination, that faith supersedes [removes the need for] holiness, is the marrow of Antinomianism. (Wesley Sermon: On The Wedding Garment).
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.
