Love Versus Antinomianism

Dispensationalism has had an unfortunate longterm impact on Evangelicals, at least in America. Folks of that persuasion love to quote the second half of Romans 6:14, while glossing over the first half: "Sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace." People walk around repeating, "not under law but under grace," like a mantra to keep away evil spirits. Yet, the first half of the verse shows that Paul is talking about a source of power. The Law does not, and cannot, enable us to live righteously; Only grace can do that. There is nothing in that verse about dismissing the Law of God as a rule of life (see I Timothy 1:8-10). Yet, the dispensationalist will deny even that, because, he repeats, "we are not under law but under grace."

But let's consider another verse: "This is love, that we walk according to His commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it" (II John 1:6).

So, we have a logical dilemma. If the dispensationalist is correct, that "we are not under law but under grace" means that the Law has no application to the Christian life, then what about love? John says that love - i. e., to one another, verse 5 - means keeping the Law. "This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome" (I John 5:3).

Apostle John versus Oneness

Oneness Pentecostalism holds that Jesus was the Father before the incarnation, the Son during His earthly ministry, and then the Holy Spirit from the ascension to eternity. Those are the three modes from which the name "modalism" is derived. In contrast, orthodox Christianity holds that the Father is always the Father, the Son is always the Son, and the Holy Spirit is always the Holy Spirit.

While Scripture demonstrates the falsehood of Oneness theology in many places, there is a new one that I wish to address here: "Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from Jesus

The Refuter of Oneness

Christ the Father's Son, in truth and love" (II John 1:3). I have never seen this addressed as a refutation of modalism, but it seems an obvious implication to me.

John wishes three things for the recipient of his epistle, whether it is a literal woman or a church: Grace, mercy, and peace. From what source? From God the Father. Alone? No, but rather also from Jesus Christ the Son. And notice that he does not mention the Holy Spirit.

This is very problematic for the Oneness believer. This epistle was written about three decades after the ascension. According to the claims of Oneness, only the Holy Spirit is now God, yet John does not seek grace, mercy, and peace from Him. Not only that, but he addresses his prayer to the Father and Jesus simultaneously, while Oneness claims that they do not exist simultaneously. Therefore, John's prayer is to the modes that Oneness says are not available, and avoids addressing the one that Oneness says is available.

All by itself, this one verse of just twenty-three words refutes the manmade modalist doctrine of Oneness Pentecostalism.

The Mercy of Christ Means Opposition to All False Teachers

In addition to what I write on this website, I work in informal cults ministry. I won't list here whom I consider to be a cult. My inspiration to perform that ministry is twofold: first, I hate that false and destructive doctrines are promulgated in the name of Christ; and second, I sorrow that people have been brought into spiritual bondage by the false use of the name of Jesus. thus, there are both a righteous wrath side and a compassion side.

And I believe that dual inspiration is biblical.

In II John 1:10-11, that Apostle warned us, "If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works."

Even more telling is the comment of Jude, the brother of Jesus (Jude 1:3), "Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints." What I find especially striking is that he tells us that it was not his original intention to talk about false teachers. However, some situation required that he shift gears and address this subject.

Then I have this warning, not to the false teachers, but rather to me: "If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand" (Ezekiel 3:18). God is serious about this! If I sit passively by, and say nothing to the cults about the eternal consequences of their false teachings, then I am a murderer, with their blood on my hands. He doesn't hold me responsible for their reaction, but He does for giving warning.

As one might guess, my compassion is hardly received as such. The consistent reaction is a tearful protest: How dare you say that my chosen theology is false! And then someone will always quote, "Judge not, that you be not judged" (Matthew 7:1), as if it trumps everything else in Scripture. They never go on to cite the next verse: "For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you." Jesus's emphasis isn't verse 1, but verse 2. Compare His words to what He says in John 7:24: "Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment." He never intended an absolute ban on judgment, but rather on manmade judgment. We are only to pronounce and apply His judgments from Scripture.

Jude also describes the other motivation (Jude 1:22-23): "Have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh."

God gives us an invitation to come to Him, not to be brought under bondage, but to free us from our bondages: " Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to Me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to Me; hear, that your soul may live" (Isaiah 55:1-3). And Jesus gave the same invitation: "Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). Anyone who brings a convert into bondage, makes him heavy-laden, is no servant of Christ, but rather an enemy: "Whoever is not with Me is against Me, and whoever does not gather with Me scatters" (Matthew 12:30. Such a person must expect only opposition from me, no matter what crocodile tears he may shed about judgment!

The Connection Between Love and Truth in the Second Epistle of John

Have you ever noticed the consistent response that a person gets if he tries to point out the theological errors of someone else, especially a TV preacher? He is "judgmental," "unloving." The vocabulary is

very consistent.

Often, the only effort at a biblical criticism is to exclaim, "Judge not, lest ye be judged!" And that is, indeed, biblical, from Matthew 7:1. However, it is not completely biblical. What does the next verse say? "With the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you." By what standard will you be judged? By the standard of the Word of God, of course. Thus, Matthew is making the same point that John does in John 7:24: "Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment." That is, judge according to the word of God, not according to one's personal preferences. In both cases, the authors are quoting Jesus. Thus, in context, Jesus in Matthew is not making an absolute statement against exercising judgment. Otherwise we would have Him contradicting Himself.

Later in life, John explained these words of Jesus in his second epistle. He uses the buzzword of the nonjudgmental crowd (that is, nonjudgmental among themselves; they have plenty of judgment for anyone who dares to disagree with them), "love," four times in just the first six verses (out of the mere thirteen in the whole epistle). And I am sure that the love crowd would love to stop at that point. However, John gives a definition of love, one that they will not like (verse six):  "this is love, that we walk according to his commandments." "Love," in John's usage, has content. 

Another word that John uses a lot in this epistle, five times, is "truth." Not just "a truth," but "the truth," truth that "we know," is "in us," and "abides with us forever." John expresses his joy that the recipients of this epistle are "walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father" (verse 4). In contrast, he warns against "deceivers" (verse 7), who do "not abide in the teaching of Christ" (verse 9), and who we are "not receive him into your house or give him any greeting" (verse 10).

Thus, contrary to the judgment of the love crowd, we are not commanded to love everybody (that is, equally and openly), but rather those who are faithful to the truth, i. e., biblical truth. This is the same attitude that David expresses in Psalm 139:21-22: "Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies." The "man after God's own heart" (I Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22) hated those who hate the truth. And we are, too, regardless of the shrieks of rage from the unloving love hypocrites.