SIC ET NON
[YES AND NO]
What was important was not so much
what antinomians said, but what they left unsaid, or rather, what they
communicated through subtle and implicit cues and hints.
—Como
The notion that "God does not
need your good works, but your neighbor does" was taken in an absolute
sense by the antinomians, who typically missed the obvious Christological point
about Christ's ever-increasing glorification as the God-man.
—How
exasperating are their arguments.
Law as LAW
WCF
CHAP. XIX.VI
So as, a man’s
doing good, and refraining from evil, because the law encourageth to the one,
and deterreth from the other, is no evidence of his being under the law; and
not under grace. (Rom. 6:12,14, 1 Pet. 3:8–12, Ps. 34:12–16, Heb. 12:28–29)
Romans
6:12
12 Therefore
do
not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts,
14 For
sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under
grace.
1
Peter 3:8-12
8 To
sum up,
all of you be harmonious, sympathetic,
brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit;
9 not
returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but 1giving a blessing
instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a
blessing.
10 For,
“The
one who desires life, to love and see good days,
Must
keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.
11 “He must turn away from evil and do good;
He must seek peace and pursue it.
12 “For
the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous,
And
His ears attend to their prayer,
But
the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
Psalm
34:12-16
12 Who
is the man who desires life
And
loves length of days that he may see
good?
13 Keep
your tongue from evil
And
your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Depart
from evil and do good;
Seek
peace and pursue it.
15 The
eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
And
His ears are open to their cry.
16 The
face of the Lord is against evildoers,
To
cut off the memory of them from the earth.
Hebrews
12:28-29
28 Therefore,
since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show
gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence
and awe;
29 for
our God is a consuming fire.
Although
they that are regenerate, and believe in Christ, be delivered from the moral
law as a covenant of works, (Rom. 6:14, Rom. 7:4,6, Gal. 4:4–5) so as thereby
they are neither justified (Rom. 3:20) nor condemned; (Gal. 5:23, Rom. 8:1)
yet, besides the general uses thereof common to them with all men, it is of
special use, to show them how much they are bound to Christ for his fulfilling
it, and enduring the curse thereof in their stead, and for their good; (Rom. 7:24–25, Gal. 3:13–14, Rom. 8:3–4) and
thereby to provoke them to more thankfulness, (Luke 1:68–69,74–75, Col. 1:12–14)
and to express the same in their greater care to conform themselves
thereunto as the rule to their obedience.
(Rom. 7:22, Rom. 12:2, Tit. 2:11–14)
The Westminster larger catechism : Question 97
Romans
6:14
14 For
sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
Romans
7:4
4 Therefore,
my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ,
so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in
order that we might bear fruit for God.
Romans
7:6
6 But
now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were
bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the
letter.
Galatians
4:4-5
4 But
when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman,
born under the Law,
5 so
that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the
adoption as sons.
Romans
3:20
20 because
by the works 1of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for 2bthrough
the Law comes the knowledge of sin.
Galatians
5:23
23 gentleness,
a\self-control; against such things b\there is no law.
Romans
8:1
1 Therefore there
is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Romans
7:24-25
24 Wretched
man that I am! Who will set me free from 1athe body of this death?
25 Thanks
be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with
my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of
sin.
Galatians
3:13-14
13 Christ
redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is
written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on ca tree”—
14 in
order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles,
so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Romans
8:3-4
3 For
what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did:
sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,
4 so
that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk
according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
Luke
1:68-69
68 “Blessed
be the Lord God of Israel,
For
He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,
69 And
has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In
the house of David His servant—
Luke
1:74-75
74 To
grant
us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
75 In
holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
Colossians
1:12-14
12 giving
thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the
saints in Light.
13 For
He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of
His beloved Son,
14 in
whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Romans
7:22
22 For
I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man,
Romans
12:2
2 And
do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your
mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and
acceptable and perfect.
Titus
2:11-14
11 For the grace
of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men,
12 instructing
us to deny
ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in
the present age,
13 looking
for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and
Savior, Christ Jesus,
14 who
gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for
Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
WCF CHAP. XIX.V The moral law doth
for ever bind all, as well justified persons as others, to the obedience
thereof; (Rom.
13:8,9, Eph. 6:2, 1 John 2:3–4,7–8) and that, not only in regard of the matter
contained in it, but also in respect of the authority of God the Creator, who
gave it. (James 2:10,11) Neither doth Christ, in the Gospel, any way
dissolve, but much strengthen this obligation. (Matt. 5:17–19, James 2:8, Rom.
3:31)
Romans
13:8
8 Owe
nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has
fulfilled the law.
Romans
13:9
9 For
this, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not
steal, You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, it is
summed up in this saying, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Ephesians
6:2
2 Honor your father
and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise),
1 John
2:3-4
3 By
this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.
4 The
one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is
a liar, and the truth is not in him;
1
John 2:7-8
7 Beloved, I am
not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had
from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard.
8 On
the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and
in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already
shining.
James
2:10
10 For whoever
keeps the whole 1law and yet stumbles in one point,
he has become guilty of all.
James
2:11
11 For
He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not commit murder.” Now
if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a
transgressor of the law.
Matthew
5:17-19
17 “Do
not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to
abolish but to fulfill.
18 “For
truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter
or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
19 “Whoever
then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the
kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them,
he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
James
2:8
8 If, however, you
are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your
neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.
Romans
3:31
31 Do
we then nullify 1the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law.
Man's decision to keep God's law
because it is God's law is in fact a sign of grace, not a sign of being unconverted or having a legalistic
spirit, as the antinomians argued.
Antinomians are to be abominated.
—Ezekiel
Hopkins(1634-90)
HEIGTENED
OBLIGATION
Because the greater
indicatives of the new covenant, the imperatives are not relaxed,
but
in fact are strengthened.
John 13:34
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one
another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
Mark
12:31
31 “The second is
this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment
greater than these.”
Leviticus
19:33-34
33 ‘When a
stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong.
34 ‘The stranger
who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall
love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord
your God.
Deuteronomy 15:12-18
“If your kinsman, a
Hebrew man or woman, is sold to you, then he shall serve you six years, but in
the seventh year you shall set him free.
13 “When you set
him free, you shall not send him away empty-handed.
14 “You shall
furnish him liberally from your flock and from your threshing floor and from
your wine vat; you shall give to him as the Lord your God has blessed you.
15 “You shall
remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God
redeemed you; therefore I command you this today.
16 “It shall come
about if he says to you, ‘I will not go out from you,’ because he loves you and
your household, since he fares well with you;
17 then you shall
take an awl and pierce it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your
servant forever. Also you shall do likewise to your maidservant.
18 “It shall not
seem hard to you when you set him free, for he has given you six years with double the service of a hired man; so the
Lord your God will bless you in whatever you do.
Philippians
2:5-11
Have this attitude
in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, although He
existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be
grasped,
7 but emptied
Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and
being made in the likeness of men.
8 Being found in
appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of
death, even death on a cross.
9 For this reason
also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every
name,
10 so that at the
name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and
under the earth,
11 and that every
tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The
New Testament heightens, not lessens, the place of the moral law in the life of the believer,
for the indicative has been heightened through Crhist's mediatorial work.
Galatians
5:14
For all the law is
fulfilled in one word, even in this;
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Romans 13:8-10
8 Owe nothing to
anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled
the law.
9 For this, “You
shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall
not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this
saying, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
10 Love does no
wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Ephesians
6:2-3
Honour thy father and mother; (which is the
first commandment with promise;) 3That it may be well with thee, and thou
mayest live long on the earth.
There is such an OVERREACTION
to "moralizing sermons" that preachers fail to give
appropriate, soul-searching application in the form of commands. Direct and specific application
is something that Paul does not omit in his letters.
1
Thessalonians 4:10
10 for
indeed you do practice it toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But
we urge you, brethren, to excel still more,
For Paul, the law functioned as a
means of sanctification.
Rutherford states that believers
need the direction of the written law.
"If the law, and the
commands thereof be impossible, to what purpose then does he command them? Why
does he bid us turn to him when we cannot?. . . These commandments are … practical and operative means appointed by God."
We have been
constituted in such a way that we need to be given specific commands by
ministers of God's word. To leave off preaching of commands, as many do today, is
to neglect an instrument that God has appointed for the sanctification of His
church.
The Gospel in its letter doth
no more give grace and righteousness than the law. They are to be a rule of life.
-Rutherford
"THEIR
PRINCIPLES"
The degree to which they
prioritized justification over other graces was, is short, TOTALLY UNHELPFUL.
Philippians 1:10 (speaking of
sanctification, not justification)
10 so
that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ;
Matthew 5:20(not speaking of His own righteousness)
20 “For I
say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and
Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Mark 7:8
8 “Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold
to the tradition of men.”
Romans 8:4
4 so that the requirement of the Law might be
fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the
Spirit.
Matthew 5:6
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Psalm
106:3
3 How blessed are those who keep justice, Who
practice righteousness at all times!
Psalm 15 (applies to God's people)
1 A Psalm of David. O Lord, who may abide in
Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill?
2 He who walks with integrity, and works
righteousness, And speaks truth in his heart.
3 He does not slander with his tongue, Nor does
evil to his neighbor, Nor takes up a reproach against his friend;
4 In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, But
who honors those who fear the Lord; He swears to his own hurt and does not
change;
5 He does not put out his money at interest,
Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will
never be shaken.
Psalm 24:3-4(applies to God's people)
3 Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And
who may stand in His holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who
has not lifted up his soul to falsehood And has not sworn deceitfully.
Romans 8:4
4That the righteousness of the law might be
fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Psalms
106:3
3
Blessed are they
that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all
times.
1
Timothy 1:5
5
But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good
conscience and a sincere faith.
James 4:8
8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to
you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double
minded.
Matthew 5:8
8 “Blessed are
the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Psalm
1:2
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he
meditates day and night.
CONCLUSION
Romans 7:12
Wherefore
the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and
good.
CHRISTIANS
need specific
moral exhortations because our hearts are have the remnants of sin and we have
darkened minds.
1
Ti 6:17-19
17Charge them that are rich in this world, that
they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God,
who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;
18 That they do good, that they be rich in good
works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;
19 Laying up in store for themselves a good
foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
Hebrews 3:13
13 But encourage one another
day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will
be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
Psalm 119:165
165 Those who love Your law have great peace,
And nothing causes them to stumble.
Tendencies
to commit certain sins require specific exhortations to avoid them.
