“What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?” Romans 6:1
“Antinomianism… what’s it mean?” That was the question Katie asked me yesterday, which made me feel OLD! I had just read about it last week and had to look it up. It was in my head years ago, but I’d forgotten it. Now I’d forgotten it again… within only a week! UGH! Simply stated, it is the ‘get out of jail free’ card in the Christian world. Like the illustration above… it’s “a license to sin!”
We had an interesting discussion about the subject. She had just gotten home from work and was frustrated because a group of small children ‘just don’t seem to get it!’ She told me of a nasty incident committed by a child. When the parent was told, their reply was, “my son wouldn’t do that!” What that taught the child was, “it’s OK to be nasty, my parents don’t care!” I felt her pain!
I remembered my adolescence and the rebellion and pain I put MY parents through. I was saved at a young age but, naturally and easily, gravitated toward the Grace message of, “once saved, always saved!” I had done the logic and math myself and figured… ‘well if that’s true, then it doesn’t matter WHAT I do!’ So naturally, I did things that should not be done by a Christian! And I still do!
But so do YOU! Bound by sin, and finally made aware that I had ZERO chance of avoiding the lake of Fire, I LEAPT at the chance of Forgiveness from God. I was told Salvation was FREE! Now who can pass up a GREAT DEAL like THAT? Admittedly, it took a while, But the realization finally hit that ‘Freedom isn’t Free!’ Over the years I have learned that… being His is like walking a tightrope! IT’S HARD!
I admit I STILL have a hard head… meaning I usually learn things the HARD way. But the discomfort that comes from willful sin and rebellion ALWAYS catches up to me. And ‘sin’ is ALWAYS ‘willful rebellion.’ Now… sin is simply uncomfortable to me. Yes.. I got away from the ultimate penalty of it! But the payment of shame and correction is never worth the credit. ‘Free to sin’ simply doesn’t exist!
Romans 6:2 finishes the Bible verse today, “…by no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Are YOU trying to get away with something that you KNOW is hurting your Heavenly Father’s heart? Do you talk to Him about it? Do you let Him know that YOU know it is wrong, and that you are sorry? Are you trying to work with Him to clean up your act? I’m going to try hard to never forget this again!
