20250614

Antinomianism chapter 2 THE IMMITATION OF CHRIST notes

 






Aphorisms:
Without a robust affirmation of the holiness of Christ, it and all that that means, calls to holiness, however stirring they may be, will inevitably devolve into a form of man-centered pietism. 

—If all make the claim to be something, there is perhaps good reason to question the value of the term.

If Christians can have any enjoyable communion with God, it must be a holy enjoyment based on both parties.

If we have any interest in Christ, we MUST emulate Him in His Holiness. 
—MARK JONES

John 1:16
16 And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 


Hebrews 5:7-10
In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. 
8     Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. 
9     And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, 
10     being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek. 
 
 Hebrews 2:18
18     For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted. 

CHRIST THE CENTER

1 Peter 1:16
16     because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 


Leviticus 11:44
For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. And you shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm on the earth. 

Leviticus 19::2
     “Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. 

Leviticus 20:7
‘You shall consecrate yourselves therefore and be holy, for I am the Lord your God. 

2 Corinthians 13:14
14     The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. 

 Col 1:1-29
     Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 
2     To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. 
3     We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 
4     since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints; 
5     because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel 
6     which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth; 
7     just as you learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow bond-servant, who is a faithful servant of Christ on our behalf, 
8     and he also informed us of your love in the Spirit. 
9     For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 
10     so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 
11     strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously 
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. 
15     He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 
16     For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 
17     He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 
18     He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. 
19     For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, 
20     and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. 
21     And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, 
22     yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach— 
23     if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister. 
24     Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions. 
25     Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, 
26     that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, 
27     to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 
28     We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. 
29     For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me. 

CHRIST'S LIFE OF FAITH

Pg 22

To neglect  Christ as our pattern of holiness is 
"EVIL AND PERNICIOUS."
—Mark Jones quoting JOHN OWEN
I FAIL TO SEE HOW ASKING WHAT Jesus would do were he in a given situation automatically makes one a godless humanist who denies the divinity of Christ.

To be holy is both to look to ChrisT's work of reconciliation(i.e., impetration) and to LABOR after conformity to His image. 
 —Mark Jones quoting JOHN OWEN

Ephesians 1:4
4     just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 

Romans  8:29
For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 

Pg 23
There was room for real advancement in [Jesus's] human nature.



Hebrews 12:2
fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 


Isaiah 50:8
8     He who vindicates Me is near; 
Who will contend with Me? 
Let us stand up to each other; 
Who has a case against Me? 
Let him draw near to Me. 

Romans 4:5
But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness, 

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12/16/2013, 6:16 PM 

 1 Timothy 3:16
16     By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: 
He who was revealed in the flesh, 
Was vindicated in the Spirit, 
Seen by angels, 
Proclaimed among the nations, 
Believed on in the world, 
Taken up in glory. 


 Galatians 3:13
3     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 a tree”— 


₩50



When it comes to the Christian life and experience, many of us have understood the gospel as the thing that gets us in, while the thing that then keeps u  in we assume is our own effort and performance. Recognize that the gospel ignites the Christian life,  but we often fail to see that it's also the fuel to keep us going and growing as Christians.
—J+N=E pg 37

--


Antinomianism

The life of holiness is therefore the life of faith. The way we begin the Christian life is the way we continue in the Christian life until we get to heaven, where faith becomes sight. If that was required for the sinless Lamb of God, how much more so for us, who have remaining indwelling sin? 
— Mark Jones

John 15:10
“If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. 

Hebrews 10:38-39
38     But My righteous one shall live by faith; 
And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him. 
39     But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul. 

This verse applies not only to believers, but especially to Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 2:13
13     And again, 
“I will put My trust in Him.” 
And again, 
“Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me.” 


Acts 15:9
9     and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. 
 
THE SPIRIT AND CHRIST

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Screen clipping taken: 12/16/2013, 7:32 PM

Luke 2:52
52 And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

Isaiah 11:2
2     The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, 
The spirit of wisdom and understanding, 
The spirit of counsel and strength, 
The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. 


THE SPIRIT IN THE BELIEVER

Though faith(which we call the condition on our part) be the gift of God, and the power of believing be derived from God; yet the act of believing is properly OUR ACT. . . Else it would follow, when we act any grace, as faith, repentance, or obedience, that GOD believes, repents, and obeys in us, and it is not we, but GOD that does all of these.
—JOHN FLAVEL (c. 1627-1691)


WCF CHAP. III.i. - Of God’s Eternal Decree
1.     God from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass: (Eph. 1:11, Rom. 11:33, Heb. 6:17, Rom. 9:15,18) yet so, as thereby neither is God the author of sin, (James 1:13,17, 1 John 1:5) nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures; nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established. (Acts 2:23, Matt. 17:12, Acts 4:27–28, John 19:11, Prov. 16:33)


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Ephesians 1:11
     11     also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, 

Romans 11:33
     33     Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! 

Hebrews 6:17
     17     In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, 

Romans 9:15
     15     For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 

Romans 9:18
     18     So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. 

James 1:13
     13     Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. 


James 1:17
     17     Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. 

1 John 1:5
God Is Light
     5     This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 


Acts 2:23
     23     this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. 

Matthew 17:12
     12     but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” 

Acts 4:27-28
     27     “For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the 
Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 
     28     to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur. 

John 19:11
     11     Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.” 

Proverbs 16:33
     33     The lot is cast into the lap, 
But its every decision is from the Lord. 
 
Heresy and error always have practical consequences.

Failure to exhort people to good works is a practical affirmation of the view that Christ is the subject of spiritual activity in the believer.

Mark 12:31; 1 Thessalonians 5:25; 2 Thessalonians 2:15; James 4:7; Psalm 51:10

Mark 12:31 
31 “The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
 
1 Thessalonians 5:25
25 Brethren, pray for us.
 
 
2 Thessalonians 2:15 
15 So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.
 
 
James 4:7 
7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
 
God's work of holiness does not bypass the moral faculties of the believer, but rather RENEWS them and purifies them(by faith in the power of His Spirit) in order for the believer to use his own God-given (and now God-restored) faculties.
 
Psalm 51:10 
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

 Romans 8:13
13     for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 


We HAVE NOT BEEN DEPRIVED OF OUR WILLS; RATHER, the Spirit makes our hearts and minds able to do God's will.

Philippians 2:13 
13     for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. 
 

To blur the distinction between impetration and application, and so make Christ totally responsible, not only for our imputed righteousness, but also for our imparted righteousness, OBLITERATES HUMAN RESPONSIBILITY, REPLACING IT WITH CHRIST"S "RESPONSIBILITY."

JOKER SMILE PAINT - possibly arranged words so that they make a joker smile

In Galatians 2:19-20 the word "I" appears more often than the word "Christ."

19 “For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God.
20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

20250518

Antinomianism chapter 1 notes

There is only one heresy, and that is Antinomianism.

-John Duncan(1796-1870)


The debate centered around how best to magnify the grace of God. 


Christian ethics is not a matter of finding a middle ground between legalism and license. "such and approach could end up by being only what it was from the start, an oscillation between two sub-Christian forms of life"

-Donovan

. . . Legalism and Antinomianism are Christological errors.

-MJ


Historically, when a glorious truth is discovered, or even rediscovered, a number of half-truths or complete untruths are also birthed along with it.


The writings of any figure in church figure in church history must be historically located.


When one falls into error on one point of theology, other points necessarily follow.


Unguarded phrases, wither wrongly worded or wrongly understood, often lead to further unguarded ways of theologizing.


POSSIBLE TYPO on page 17 that reads "Luther may have used in some of the unguarded statements in his pre-1925 writings, he was not an antinomian in the sense of being against God's law."


The answer depends on the right questions being asked. Christology will always prove to be decisive in debates on antinomianism.


Resurrected errors require resurrected answers that build on and clarify Reformed orthodoxy.

-MJ

Jesus had more than one will


Rom. 5, Gen. 3:1-6, 1 John 3:4, Matthew 23,  mark 7:8, John 12:43, Acts 2:23, 


THE FIRST ANTINOMIANS


Romans 5 

1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.

3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance;

4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;

5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.

8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.

10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

11 And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned—

13 for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.

15 But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.

16 The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification.

17 For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

18 So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.

19 For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.

20 The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,

21 so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.


Genesis 3:1-6 

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”

2 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat;

3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’ ”

4 The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die!

5 “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.


1 John 3:4 

4 Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.


Matthew 23 

1 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples,

2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses;

3 therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.

4 “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.

5 “But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments.

6 “They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues,

7 and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men.

8 “But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers.

9 “Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.

10 “Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ.

11 “But the greatest among you shall be your servant.

12 “Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.

14 [“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.]

15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.’

17 “You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold?

18 “And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the offering on it, he is obligated.’

19 “You blind men, which is more important, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering?

20 “Therefore, whoever swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by everything on it.

21 “And whoever swears by the temple, swears both by the temple and by Him who dwells within it.

22 “And whoever swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits upon it.

23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.

24 “You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence.

26 “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.

27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.

28 “So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous,

30 and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’

31 “So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.

32 “Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers.

33 “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?

34 “Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city,

35 so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

36 “Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.

38 “Behold, your house is being left to you desolate!

39 “For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”


Mark 7:8 

8 “Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.”


John 12:43 

43 for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.


Acts 2:23 

23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.


 

[2] New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995. LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

 3/11/2014, 11:21 AM 


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Batman Axis

















Except that he said that this applied to believers.

























































































Let believers, then, in forming an estimate of this mortal life, and perceiving that in itself it is nothing but misery, make it their aim to exert themselves with greater alacrity, and less hindrance in aspiring to the future and eternal life. When we contrast the two, the former may not only be securely neglected, but, in comparison of the latter, be disdained and contemned. If heaven is our country, what can the earth be but a place of exile?
Calvin, John: Institutes  S. III, ix, 4






We know that, during our intercourse with men in the day time, our thoughts are distracted, and we often judge rashly, being deceived by the external appearance; whereas in solitude, we can give to any subject a closer attention; and, farther, the sense of shame does not then hinder a man from thinking without disguise of his own faults.  This exhortation has a respect to us all; for there is nothing to which men are more prone than to deceive one another with empty applause, until each man enter into himself, and commune alone with his own heart.
-John Calvin