“He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination” (Proverbs 28:9).
If there is one thing that characterizes the Christianity of this age, it is lawlessness. It seems everyone is a law unto himself. Lawlessness is when a “Christian” sets aside the law of God for one of his own making or one someone else has made. Many “Christians” do this.
Usually among the Wesleyan-Arminians, we think of Calvinists as antinomians or lawless ones. But a true Calvinist has great respect for the law of God. It is this new antinomian form of Calvinism that has disregarded the law.
But they are not the only ones! Many Wesleyans, Pentecostals, and a wide variety of Christians do the same. In reference to the modern antinomians, many are found among the Baptists which make up the bulk of the fundamentalist camp.
Many fundamentalists today have completely disregarded God’s law. I have heard prominent radio preachers tell of everything from drug abuse, fornication, incest, and hatred for fellow Christians, all under the name of Christianity. They teach sins do not affect one’s Christianity! Such are surely under a delusion. The Scriptures are clear on the subject. “All liars shall have their part in the lake of fire” (Revelation 21:8). “He that saith he is in the light and hateth his brother is in darkness even until now” (1 John 2:9). “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him” (1 John 3:15). “He that saith I know Him and keepeth not His commandments is a liar” (1 John 2:4).
This type of “Christian” completely disregards regeneration. They speak of justification, but say little about regeneration; about having the “mind of Christ” or “Christ being formed in you.” This antinomian form of Christianity is false, unscriptural, and is no doubt, leading many to destruction.
This is caused in part by putting radical and absolute meanings to words like “grace” (undeserved favor) and “gift” [as] an unconditional gift as well as unconditional forgiveness. Even Wesleyans are about to give up the conditions for forgiveness, namely repentance and scriptural faith. The Scriptures are clear that repentance must precede true faith. To be sure, there is a superficial faith that can exist without repentance, but there is no assurance or confidence that goes with such faith. It is a dead faith as opposed to the lively or living faith of true Christians.
There are some areas of concern to me among the Wesleyan Arminian people. The law is disregarded when it comes to evil speaking and gossip. “Speak evil of no man” the law says. Yet how easily this is laid aside. Bossy wives rule their husbands and in many cases run the churches. This is lawlessness also. Many are opposed to capital punishment and substitute a law of their own for God’s law. This is a form of antinomianism. Many hate their brothers and work hard against them. They break fellowship over the slightest differences of doctrine.
The Scripture tells us to cease to hear instructions that cause us to err from words of knowledge (Proverbs 19:27). Yet many continue to send their children to heathen schools to be taught heathen philosophy. Sleeve lengths is by far a great issue to some than abortion or Christian education. Many laymen do not obey their pastors and have very little respect for them, while the Scriptures command us to obey those over us in the Lord. Many pay him as little as they dare for his labors, and if he doesn’t do just to suit them, they will start a campaign to vote him out – all of which is as unscriptural as it is sinful.
In short, all of us need to study the Scriptures honestly and sincerely to see just what the Scriptures teach and how much of our beliefs are mere tradition and how many are truly scriptural, and then let us earnestly contend for the Scriptures. “For he that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination” (Proverbs 28:9).
From: Brush, Robert L. “The Antithesis Of Law Is Not Grace, But Lawlessness.” The Arminian: A Publication of the Fundamental Wesleyan Society, vol. 6, no. 1, 1986. http://wesley.nnu.edu/arminianism/the-arminian-magazine/the-arminian-magazine-spring-1986/. Web.
