Antinomian readings of Paul, which claim that Romans 7:4 abolishes God's law for Christians, are distortions of the kind Peter warned about (II Peter 3:15-16). Paul's statement that a Christian is dead to the law and married to another does not mean God no longer requires obedience. Romans 6 lays the foundation: baptism buries the old man with Christ, freeing the believer from bondage to sin. In Romans 7:1 the law has "dominion" (kurieuo, to exercise lordship over) only while a man lives, just as death and sin no longer have dominion in Romans 6:9 and 14. This means the law's power to condemn to death ends at death. In the marriage analogy of Romans 7:2-3, the law in view is the Ten Commandments, since the seventh forbids adultery, and Paul treats it as binding. Death ends the marriage bond and frees the widow from condemnation, but the law itself remains. Likewise, the believer's old man died at baptism, Christ paid the penalty, and the law can no longer condemn. The believer is now free to be married to Christ and bear fruit to God. Serving "in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter" means keeping God's laws in their full spiritual intent, as Christ magnified them. Far from being abolished, the law is even more binding, and the Holy Spirit empowers believers to keep it.

There exists a pervasive anti-law bias concerning the New Covenant that often surfaces in teachings, revealing itself through subtle implications that laws such as the Sabbath, tithing, holy days, and food laws are restrictive and harsh. This bias mirrors the deception employed by satan in Genesis 3, where he twisted God's law to appear cruel and binding, suggesting that God withholds good things from humanity. Such teachings imply that adhering to these laws prevents enjoyment of greater income, more time, or delicious meals deemed unclean, portraying God's law as an impingement on personal freedom. This attitude reflects negatively on God, the Lawgiver, by suggesting that He imposed an inhibiting bondage through these commandments, contrary to the liberty He intended. This anti-law perspective follows the pattern of the master deceiver, leading to a rejection of God's government and law, just as it did with Adam and Eve. The carnal mind, inherently at enmity against God, cannot hide this resistance, often surfacing against what it considers the least important laws, driven by a desire to avoid control in certain areas of life.

Teaching that Jesus was born under the Old Covenant law and bound to its rituals subtly implies that Christians need not follow Him in all respects, and this is the kind of crafty argument that leads people away from walking as He walked. If Christ had to keep ceremonial ordinances that Christians do not, then perhaps many other things He did are also optional. Galatians 4:4 is the verse usually cited, but the Greek ginomai means "made" or "came into being," not gennao ("born"), and the original lacks the definite article, so Paul speaks of law in general and stresses Christ's humanity. Jesus was under the law's condemnation only at the crucifixion, when the world's sins were laid on Him (Galatians 3:13; II Corinthians 5:21). Being sinless, He was never subject to the Old Covenant rules, which were designed to remind Israel of sin and the need for a Savior. Likewise, a forgiven Christian need not keep the laws of priesthood, animal sacrifices, and national observances. Circumcision and the offering in Luke 2 were done by His parents, and the Feast of Dedication was a national festival, not a commanded one. Even so, Jesus kept the spiritual law of God, and Christians must do everything He did, including keeping the Sabbath and holy days. Teaching that one need not follow Christ is the spirit of antichrist (I John 4:1-3), a deception John warned against, as in Gnostic denials of Christ's flesh. Christ lives again in the flesh of His disciples, who must emulate Him in every way.

Many nominal Christians adhere to a simplistic, bumper sticker version of Christianity, believing that a momentary emotional commitment to Jesus Christ ensures eternal salvation without necessitating any deeper change or understanding. They assume they are eternally secure in God's grace, continuing to live as they always have with little to no further learning about true Christianity. This approach reflects an antinomian tendency, where the law is considered irrelevant or annulled, and personal standards replace God's instruction. Such believers often lack knowledge of even basic biblical concepts, following their own heart's will rather than the comprehensive counsel of God, which includes both simple and profound teachings that require ongoing study and growth.

In the context of liberty and independence, the concept of being Antinomian, or against the law, emerges as a misunderstanding among some Christians who desire to be free from the constraints of law, seeking to be uncontrolled and unrestrained by it. However, this perspective is not supported by Scripture, which never endorses freedom from the law in the sense of abandoning it. Instead, believers are freed from the penalty of the law through Christ's sacrifice, not from the law itself. This liberation allows us to live under a better system, adhering to the Spirit rather than just the letter of the law. We are not justified by lawkeeping but by faith in Christ, enabling us to keep the law in its spiritual intent and develop God's character. Thus, the Antinomian view of rejecting the law entirely misses the true essence of Christian liberty, which involves a dependence on God and a commitment to righteousness, not a pursuit of independence from His guidance.

The antinomian spirit, an attitude of lawlessness, is a pervasive issue within the church of God, allowing sins to infest its members. When individuals teach and practice that they are not obliged to keep God's laws, sin inevitably breaks out vigorously, placing Christians under the penalty of the law and the wrath of the Judge. Jesus, Paul, Peter, Jude, and John all warn against the encroachment of antinomianism, highlighting its destructive impact on spiritual life. Jesus Himself predicts in His Olivet Prophecy that lawlessness will abound, causing the love of many to grow cold. Paul foretells a great apostasy resulting from the unrestrained assault of the mystery of lawlessness, while John's gospel uses Jesus' words to combat these heresies. The Christian churches of this world are predominantly antinomian to varying degrees, influenced by Hellenistic Christianity and Greek philosophies like Gnosticism. Protestantism, in particular, embraces antinomian theology through doctrines like salvation by grace through faith alone, which removes God's law entirely, and eternal security, which negates judgment for sin. The world itself is antinomian, under the sway of satan the devil, who despises God's law and tempts believers to set it aside for personal desires. Jesus counters such temptations with adherence to the law, and in His prayer, asks God to sanctify His followers by His truth to protect them from this rampant antinomian spirit. Holding fast to God's Word and seeking His righteousness is essential to endure the mystery of lawlessness that will mark the end time.

Paul addresses a critical misunderstanding in Romans 3:31, questioning whether faith in Christ's sacrifice nullifies God's law. He emphatically answers that this faith does not overthrow the law but rather upholds and confirms it. This perspective counters the antinomian tendency to view faith as a dismissal of God's standards, revealing instead that belief in Christ's atonement acknowledges the law's ongoing relevance. Such faith admits the necessity of the law as a definition of right and wrong, since sin, defined as transgression of the law, triggers the death penalty and the need for a Redeemer. Therefore, far from promoting lawlessness, faith in Christ's sacrifice implicitly affirms that God's law remains in effect, highlighting the need for repentance and a turn from transgression to maintain a spiritual relationship with God.

Some have raised objections to the clear meaning of Acts 5:32, which states that God gives His Holy Spirit to those who obey Him. One objection claims that it is impossible to obey God before receiving His Spirit, thus suggesting that obedience cannot be a prerequisite for receiving it. However, the Bible outlines repentance and faith in the sacrifice of Christ as fundamental requirements for receiving God's Spirit, as seen in Acts 2:38. Repentance involves a genuine remorse for sins and a desire to change one's life to align with God's commandments. This earnest desire to obey, even before receiving the Spirit, is evident in the teachings of John the Baptist, who demanded that people bear fruits worthy of repentance. Therefore, Acts 5:32 means precisely what it says: God grants His Holy Spirit to those who demonstrate obedience to Him through repentance and faith.

False teachers have twisted Paul's teachings on grace, Christian liberty, and faith into excuses for sin and lawlessness, promoting a distorted view of freedom that disregards obedience to God. They have misinterpreted grace as a license to sin, ignoring Paul's condemnation of sin's enslavement and the high cost of grace, which demands our lives in obedience to Him. Similarly, they have perverted Christian liberty into unchristian license, wrongly believing that believers are free from all restraints, whereas Paul emphasized that liberty is freedom from sin's bondage, not from virtuous restraints or God's laws. This misuse often leads to a relapse into former worldly habits, as seen in the church becoming liberal and Laodicean under external influences. Additionally, Paul's doctrine of faith has been twisted to suggest that Christian action is unimportant, contrary to his teaching that we are created for righteous actions and good works. These distortions by false teachers, driven by human nature's tendency to abuse truth, pose a constant threat to the steadfastness of believers, enticing them away from the inspired Word of God into error and destruction.

In the Israelitish nations today, a troubling trend of antinomianism has emerged, reflecting a belief that under the gospel dispensation of grace, the moral law holds no use or obligation because faith alone is deemed necessary for salvation. This dangerous notion, sometimes flowing into the church of God from mainstream Christian churches, undermines the importance of God's law in guiding moral conduct. It represents a clever deception by satan, imposing a distorted morality even among those who claim to follow Christ. Mainstream Christianity often exhibits this antinomian perspective by asserting the right to overrule God's law when it is found unpleasant, thereby promoting a form of morality based on human reasoning rather than divine command. This rejection of God's moral standards contributes to the broader societal drift away from absolute Christian morality, replacing it with a secular, individualistic ethic that lacks reference to Him as the supreme Lawgiver.

In the context of declining freedoms in society, there is a pervasive misunderstanding among many who profess Christianity, particularly within Protestant circles, regarding the nature of Christian liberty. They often view Christianity as a form of license, suggesting there is no law to follow. This perspective is essentially antinomian, meaning against the law, and implies that since Christ has lived righteously, there is no need for personal righteousness or adherence to law. This belief distorts the true message of liberty in Christ, portraying it as freedom from all constraints rather than freedom to live righteously under God's guidance. Satan promotes this deceptive image of God's way as restrictive, while in reality, God's path offers true liberation through adherence to His standards, contrasting sharply with the antinomian view that rejects the law's role in Christian life.

Nominal Christianity often embraces a philosophy that sidelines the importance of works, focusing heavily on salvation by grace to the point where obeying God's Word and living out His teachings is seen as contrary to their beliefs. They label those who emphasize works as legalists, a term misused to criticize adherence to God's law as a means of salvation, which is a misunderstanding. This antinomian bias leads them to believe that Christ has done everything, requiring no effort on their part, thus excusing them from the responsibility of good works. They interpret passages like Acts, which state to believe in the Lord Jesus for salvation, as the core of their belief system, ignoring the broader biblical call to action. This perspective fosters a self-imposed spiritual blindness, disregarding the Bible's numerous instructions and examples that highlight works as essential to the sanctification process, aiding in the development of righteous and holy character, though not contributing to justification. Furthermore, many scholars and commentators, influenced by this antinomian tendency, may downplay the significance of maintaining good works as a faithful saying, prioritizing grace over the active response God expects from believers. Paul, however, insists through his teachings to Titus that believers must be careful to maintain good works, emphasizing their central role alongside grace in the Christian walk.