Theonomy in Christian Ethics by Greg L. Bahnsen

Author:Greg L. Bahnsen
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: ethics, Theonomy, Law, Bahnsen
ISBN: 9780967831732
Publisher: Covenant Media Press
Published: 2002-02-26T02:12:38+00:00

Latent Antinomianism

301

Chapter 15

LATENT ANTINOMIANISM

Two Lines of Resistance

THERE are two types of antinomianism which threaten the ethic

of theonomy in the Christian Church: outright and latent. Those

who hold to the former brand see any kind of external authority which

is applied to the Christian life as repugnant to their “spiritual” free-

dom; the law of God, therefore is not the principle used for knowing

God’s will, but instead a vague notion of the Spirit “realizing” itself in the human will is the standard of moral direction. For these antinomians maintenance of the law is legalism of the letter rather than living in the Spirit; they would replace the objective authority of God’s revealed law with Christian self-determination, conscience, and “freedom” (to call

this a misnomer would be an understatement). This position is contra-

vened by all which has been written above; it represents a substitution

of autonomy for theonomy. Hence this brand of antinomianism is out

of accord with what we have found God’s word to teach about the law,

sanctification, the Spirit, the covenant, grace and love; it is simply a

non-Christian ethic baptized with Christian terminology. What has been

said previously about autonomy and its character as totally opposed to

the biblical ethic must also be applied to this mistaken idea of the

Christian life. Although many in Christian churches propound it, such

a “morality of the Spirit” is no more genuinely Christian than is “the

morality of the Serpent” which we read of in Genesis 3. Satan’s advice

is, “Look to yourself, make up your own mind; don’t lose your freedom

by legalistically following God’s command”; he urged this upon our

first parents, and he urges it upon many in the church today. The sup-

posedly “Christian” ethic of self-determination suffers the same fatal

defects as any non-Christian ethic of inclination, but an even more

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Latent Antinomianism

serious problem is that it simply fails to square with God’s authoritative word (see previous sections of this treatise).

By not attempting to follow and do the Lord’s sayings, the antinomian

has founded his house upon the sand (Luke 6:46 ff.); although he may

honor God with the lip, his heart is far from the Lord since that which

he teaches is the precept of men. Lest we deny the Lordship of Christ

in ethics by turning the grace of God into licentiousness (cf. Jude 4)

and thereby show ourselves to be slaves of sin rather than servants of

righteousness (cf. Rom. 6:16-18), we must endorse the holy and au-

thoritative law of God in life and word and mind. “O how love I thy

law! it is my meditation all the day” (Ps. 119:97, AV); by faith that law is established in our lives (Rom. 3:31). The Spirit witnesses to the law and empowers our obedience; thereby all humanistic morality and every

competing authority is chased away. The dark night of sin must yield to

the Light.

The latent brand of antinomianism is also quite prevalent today

among Christians. Although there is an evident concern for God’s law,

this attitude still feeds upon the polluted stream of autonomy. Latent

antinomianism gladly accepts the place of God’s law in the Christian

life, and so on the surface it does not appear—and in many cases is not

intended—to be antinomian in its outlook.

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