Understanding Christ's Freedom: Legalism and Antinomianism Explored

 

Summary

In our exploration of the Marrow Controversy, we delve into the profound question of what it means to have the whole Christ, emphasizing the centrality of Christ in the gospel. This discussion often raises concerns about the potential for misunderstanding the gospel's freedom, leading some to fear that it might encourage a life of sin. This was a criticism faced by both Jesus and the Apostle Paul, as well as the Protestant Reformers, who were accused of promoting a gospel that seemed to neglect the necessity of repentance and obedience. However, true obedience and repentance are fruits of faith in Christ, not prerequisites for receiving the gospel.

The subtle danger arises when obedience and repentance overshadow Christ, suggesting that one must qualify themselves to receive the gospel. This is a distortion that the Marrow Men sought to correct, emphasizing that it is God's kindness that leads to repentance, not human effort. This session focuses on the problem of legalism, a term often used but rarely understood. Legalism, as defined by Geerhardus Vos, is a peculiar submission to God's law that lacks the personal divine touch, separating God's law from His person. This separation leads to a distorted view of God's commandments, as seen in the Genesis narrative.

In Genesis, we see God's creation as inherently good, with Adam and Eve given the task of extending the garden. However, the serpent's deception introduces a spirit of legalism by suggesting that God's commandments are restrictive. This distortion of God's character leads to antinomianism, where freedom is sought through disobedience. The narrative illustrates that every antinomian is a legalist at heart, seeking to escape legalism through the wrong means. This insight is crucial for understanding the dynamics of legalism and antinomianism in the Christian life, as exemplified in the parable of the prodigal son, where both sons exhibit a legalistic spirit, albeit in different ways.

Key Takeaways:

1. The Centrality of Christ in the Gospel: The gospel's freedom should not be misconstrued as a license to sin. True obedience and repentance are the fruits of faith in Christ, not prerequisites for receiving the gospel. This understanding prevents the overshadowing of Christ by legalistic demands. [00:23]

2. The Danger of Legalism: Legalism arises when God's law is separated from His person, leading to a distorted view of His commandments. This separation results in a peculiar submission to God's law that lacks the personal divine touch, as defined by Geerhardus Vos. [06:28]

3. The Genesis Narrative and Legalism: The story of Adam and Eve illustrates how legalism distorts God's character, portraying Him as restrictive. This distortion leads to antinomianism, where freedom is sought through disobedience, highlighting the interconnectedness of legalism and antinomianism. [12:53]

4. Antinomianism as a Response to Legalism: Every antinomian is a legalist at heart, seeking to escape legalism through the wrong means. This insight reveals that antinomianism is often a misguided attempt to find freedom from the perceived restrictions of legalism. [21:38]

5. The Prodigal Son and Legalism: The parable of the prodigal son illustrates the legalistic spirit present in both sons. The younger son's rebellion and the older son's resentment both stem from a distorted view of their father's character, highlighting the pervasive nature of legalism. [24:01]

Youtube Chapters:

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:23] - The Freedom of the Gospel
- [00:59] - Justification and Obedience
- [01:31] - The Role of Repentance
- [02:06] - The Problem of Legalism
- [03:05] - Defining 'Ism' Words
- [04:13] - Understanding Legalism
- [05:26] - Geerhardus Vos's Definition
- [07:03] - The Law and the Person of God
- [08:03] - The Genesis Narrative
- [09:39] - The Garden of Eden
- [12:01] - The Serpent's Deception
- [13:19] - Destroying God's Character
- [15:17] - Legalism and Antinomianism
- [21:38] - The Prodigal Son's Legalism

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:
1. Romans 2:4 - "Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?"
2. Genesis 3:1-6 - The temptation and fall of man.
3. Luke 15:11-32 - The parable of the prodigal son.

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Observation Questions:

1. According to the sermon, how did the Marrow Men view the relationship between God's kindness and repentance? [02:37]
2. What definition of legalism did Geerhardus Vos provide, and how does it relate to the separation of God's law from His person? [06:28]
3. In the Genesis narrative, how does the serpent's deception illustrate the distortion of God's character? [12:53]
4. How does the parable of the prodigal son demonstrate the legalistic spirit in both sons? [24:01]

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Interpretation Questions:

1. How does the concept of God's kindness leading to repentance challenge the idea that repentance must precede receiving the gospel? [02:37]
2. In what ways does separating God's law from His person lead to a distorted view of His commandments, as seen in the Genesis narrative? [07:03]
3. How does the sermon suggest that legalism and antinomianism are interconnected, and what does this reveal about the nature of sin? [21:38]
4. What insights does the parable of the prodigal son provide about the nature of legalism and the perception of God's character? [24:01]

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Application Questions:

1. Reflect on a time when you felt you needed to qualify yourself to receive God's grace. How can you shift your focus to the centrality of Christ in the gospel? [02:06]
2. Have you ever experienced a separation between God's law and His person in your own life? How can you work to integrate your understanding of God's commandments with His character? [07:03]
3. In what ways might you be seeking freedom through disobedience, as illustrated by the serpent's deception in Genesis? How can you realign your understanding of true freedom in Christ? [12:53]
4. Consider the legalistic tendencies in your own heart. How can you address these tendencies to prevent them from overshadowing your relationship with God? [21:38]
5. How does the story of the prodigal son challenge your view of God's character? In what ways can you embrace a more accurate understanding of God's love and grace? [24:01]
6. Identify a specific area in your life where you might be responding to perceived restrictions with rebellion. How can you seek God's guidance to find true freedom in obedience? [19:46]
7. Reflect on the role of repentance and obedience in your faith journey. How can you ensure these are seen as fruits of faith rather than prerequisites for receiving the gospel? [01:31]

Devotional

Day 1: Christ as the Core of the Gospel
True freedom in the gospel is not a license to sin but a call to live in the fullness of Christ. The gospel emphasizes that obedience and repentance are not prerequisites for receiving Christ but are the natural outcomes of genuine faith in Him. This understanding prevents the overshadowing of Christ by legalistic demands, ensuring that believers focus on the transformative power of faith. By recognizing that it is God's kindness that leads to repentance, believers can embrace the gospel's freedom without fear of falling into sin. [00:23]

Galatians 5:1 (ESV): "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery."

Reflection: In what ways have you allowed legalistic demands to overshadow your relationship with Christ? How can you refocus on the freedom and transformation that faith in Him brings today?


Day 2: The Personal Touch of God's Law
Legalism arises when God's law is separated from His person, leading to a distorted view of His commandments. This peculiar submission to the law lacks the personal divine touch, as defined by Geerhardus Vos. When God's law is seen as a set of rules rather than an expression of His character, it becomes burdensome and devoid of life. Understanding the law as an extension of God's love and holiness helps believers to see it as a guide to living in harmony with Him, rather than a checklist of obligations. [06:28]

Psalm 19:7-8 (ESV): "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes."

Reflection: How do you perceive God's commandments in your life? Are they burdensome rules or expressions of His love? What steps can you take to align your view of God's law with His character today?


Day 3: The Deception of Legalism in Genesis
The Genesis narrative illustrates how legalism distorts God's character, portraying Him as restrictive. The serpent's deception introduced a spirit of legalism by suggesting that God's commandments were meant to limit freedom. This distortion leads to antinomianism, where freedom is sought through disobedience. Understanding this dynamic helps believers recognize the interconnectedness of legalism and antinomianism, and the importance of seeing God's commandments as life-giving rather than restrictive. [12:53]

Genesis 3:1-5 (ESV): "Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, 'Did God actually say, "You shall not eat of any tree in the garden"?' And the woman said to the serpent, 'We may eat the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, "You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die."' But the serpent said to the woman, 'You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.'"

Reflection: In what areas of your life do you feel restricted by God's commandments? How can you reframe your understanding to see them as life-giving and freeing?


Day 4: Antinomianism's Misguided Escape from Legalism
Every antinomian is a legalist at heart, seeking to escape legalism through the wrong means. This insight reveals that antinomianism is often a misguided attempt to find freedom from the perceived restrictions of legalism. By understanding this, believers can recognize the futility of seeking freedom through disobedience and instead embrace the true freedom found in Christ. This involves a shift from seeing God's commandments as restrictive to viewing them as pathways to a deeper relationship with Him. [21:38]

Romans 6:15-18 (ESV): "What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed."

Reflection: Are there areas in your life where you seek freedom through disobedience? How can you embrace the true freedom found in Christ's grace and commandments today?


Day 5: The Prodigal Son's Legalistic Spirit
The parable of the prodigal son illustrates the legalistic spirit present in both sons. The younger son's rebellion and the older son's resentment both stem from a distorted view of their father's character. This highlights the pervasive nature of legalism, which can manifest in both overt disobedience and self-righteousness. By understanding this, believers can seek to align their view of God with His true character, embracing His grace and love rather than falling into the traps of legalism. [24:01]

Luke 15:28-32 (ESV): "But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, 'Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!' And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.'"

Reflection: How do you see yourself in the story of the prodigal son? Are there areas where you hold a distorted view of God's character? How can you embrace His grace and love more fully today?

Quotes


When you're so free in offering the gospel to people, aren't you in danger of teaching them that the gospel is so free that they can go on and live any way they please? One of the interesting things in the New Testament is that both Jesus and the Apostle Paul were accused of preaching exactly that. [00:29:16]

And of course, obedience to the law, obedience to Jesus Christ is always the fruit of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance is always the fruit of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. So we don't want to deny the importance of repentance. We don't want to deny the importance of obedience, but the subtle problem appears when that obedience, that repentance, begins to shift itself into a place in the preaching of the gospel where it doesn't really belong, and begins to obscure Christ. [01:31:15]

And one of the things the Marrow Men were wanting to emphasize is, how the Apostle Paul says in Romans 2, but don't you understand it's the kindness of God that leads you to repentance, and so you mustn't turn the gospel of Jesus Christ on its head. [02:37:46]

"Legalism," he says, "is a peculiar kind of submission to God's law, something that no longer feels the personal divine touch in the rule it submits to." Now, what does that mean? It means that legalism creeps in when we begin to pull apart the law of God from the person of God. [06:18:35]

And when that happens, we always slip into legalism. Keep the Ten Commandments, but divorce the Ten Commandments from who God actually is, and you've done something to the Ten Commandments, haven't you? You've destroyed them of the atmosphere, the character, the personalness of the One who gave them. [07:14:20]

The narrative in Genesis 1 and 2 is that this God who has given all things, who has created Adam and Eve, who has given them this whole garden to live in, who has commanded them to extend the garden. Because interestingly, as their Father, He has made a little garden for them, but not everything is garden, and so their task is to extend the garden until it reaches the ends of the earth and to have dominion over the whole world. [09:15:04]

And so, the serpent comes along, and we're all familiar with this passage, and it's often said that what the serpent does -- and rightly said -- what the serpent does is to deny the authority of God's Word. "God hasn't said that." He denies the authority of God's Word. What is not so frequently said is that there is a motivation beyond that. [13:04:59]

And the motivation beyond that is not just to deny the authority of God's Word, but to destroy the character of God's person. How does it happen? Very subtly. Serpent comes along, walks along with Eve, you catch the sense in Genesis 3 he's kind of wandering along to the tree, and he says to her, "Did God put you in this beautiful garden and tell you're not to eat any of these trees?" [13:30:08]

And you see, he's bringing her in to begin to think of God as a restricting God, who only if you meet all the restrictions is going to be pleased with you and satisfied with you. It's a most interesting phenomenon in the opening verses of Genesis, and I confess, I've been a Christian for decades, and I only noticed this relatively recently. [16:26:50]

And so, a spirit of legalism is injected into the relationship. God's law, His commandment, has been severed from God's character, and it's lost its sense of His goodness, His generosity, His grace. It bespeaks a God at -- for whom we need to meet all kinds of restrictions before He loves us. And that's the root of legalism. [19:00:47]

It teaches us that every antinomian is a legalist at heart. Every antinomian is a legalist at heart. And legalism is not only a distortion of the law; it's a distortion of the heavenly Father. And antinomianism is always the fruit of legalism. Now, that may sound rather surprising. [21:30:15]

You know, perhaps the most powerful illustration of this is found in the parable of the prodigal son. You remember the son. The younger son shares the same disposition towards his father as his older brother. It's not often said, but if you think about it, it's obvious, isn't it? The older brother regards his father essentially as a harsh taskmaster. [23:44:20]

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Transcript
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