Question: Hey, PB. Why does it matter how I live? If God's Grace washes all my sins away, doesn't my sin just show how great God's forgiveness is toward me?
Answer: Honestly, the very fact that you are asking this question helps me understand you, and I may have a very different definition of grace. You are also falling into an old heresy called antinomianism. Let's talk about it.
Grace is one of the most beautiful words in the Christian faith. God welcomes sinners through Jesus Christ. We cannot earn His love, purchase His forgiveness, or make ourselves righteous through religious performance.
But we can misunderstand grace. We can begin to think that because God forgives sin, our response to sin no longer matters.
That misunderstanding has a name: antinomianism.
The word comes from Greek terms meaning “against” and “law.” In Christian theology, it describes the belief that those saved by grace are no longer obligated to obey God’s moral commands.
In everyday language, it sounds like this: “God has already forgiven me, so it doesn’t really matter how I live.”
Most Christians would never say those words out loud. Yet we can live as though they are true.
What Antinomianism Gets Wrong
Antinomianism takes a biblical truth... salvation is a gift... and draws an unbiblical conclusion: obedience is optional.
Paul anticipated this misunderstanding in Romans 6:1–2. After explaining God’s abundant grace, he asks whether believers should continue in sin so that grace might increase. His answer is emphatic: those who have died to sin cannot treat it as their rightful way of life.
Paul does not mean that Christians become sinless. He means that belonging to Christ changes our relationship with sin. We may still struggle with it, but we can no longer comfortably call it our master.
Ephesians 2:8–10 holds the whole picture together. We are saved by grace through faith, apart from works. Then Paul explains that we are created in Christ for good works.
Good works are the fruit of salvation. We do not do good works to earn salvation. We do good works because we have received salvation.
Christians differ on how particular Old Testament laws apply under the new covenant. Antinomianism does not simply mean recognizing those differences or teaching that believers are no longer under the Mosaic covenant. The issue is whether we use grace to dismiss the moral obedience Christ calls us to practice.
Why Antinomianism Is Dangerous
1. It Makes Sin Seem Harmless.
Sin damages people. Dishonesty destroys trust. Bitterness poisons relationships. Sexual unfaithfulness wounds families. Pride makes correction difficult. Greed teaches us to use people for our own benefit.
God’s forgiveness does not make these consequences disappear.
When we treat sin casually, we often fail to notice the people paying the price for our choices. God’s commands teach us how to love Him and our neighbors. Ignoring them undermines the very love we claim to value.
2. It Separates Faith From Following Jesus.
Jesus connects love for Him with obedience to His commands in John 14:15.
Following Jesus involves more than agreeing with facts about Him. It means learning to trust His judgment, receive His correction, and walk in His ways.
We cannot consistently claim Jesus as Lord while declaring whole areas of our lives off-limits to His authority. His lordship reaches our speech, relationships, finances, sexuality, work, and private habits.
Obedience will be imperfect, but surrender should be real.
3. It Gives False Assurance.
A person may assume that a past prayer or religious experience guarantees spiritual health, even while refusing repentance in the present.
Scripture gives believers strong reasons for confidence in Christ. It also warns against claiming to know Him while persistently rejecting His commands (1 John 2:3–6).
This requires pastoral care. A struggling Christian who grieves over sin and keeps returning to Jesus needs encouragement. Someone defending sin and refusing correction needs a loving warning.
The important distinction is between struggling against sin and making peace with it.
Spiritual growth is often slow. A tender conscience should not confuse slow progress with God’s rejection. But grace should never become our explanation for why repentance is unnecessary.
4. It Misrepresents Grace
Titus 2:11–14 describes grace as a teacher. God’s grace trains us to turn away from ungodliness and live self-controlled, upright lives.
Grace both welcomes us and changes us.
If our understanding of grace gives us endless reasons to excuse sin but no desire to turn from it, we need to revisit what Scripture actually says about grace.
5. It Damages the Church’s Witness
People notice when Christians speak warmly about Jesus while treating others cruelly, dishonestly, or selfishly.
The church’s credibility suffers when we excuse behavior that Christ calls us to confront. This is especially serious when leaders use forgiveness to avoid accountability or pressure those they have harmed to move on.
Forgiveness does not automatically restore trust, erase consequences, or qualify someone to return to leadership. Repentance must be taken seriously, and people who have been harmed must be cared for.
What Should We Do About It?
1. Keep the Whole Gospel Together
We need to teach both justification and sanctification.
- Justification concerns our acceptance before God through Christ.
- Sanctification concerns the Spirit’s ongoing work of making us more like Christ.
Our growth does not purchase our acceptance. It flows from God’s saving work.
The answer to antinomianism is not legalism. Legalism tries to earn or secure God’s favor through performance. Antinomianism treats obedience as unnecessary. The gospel gives us a different foundation: we are received through Christ and empowered to follow Him.
2. Read Scripture Beyond Our Favorite Verses
Read Ephesians 2:8–10 together. Read Romans 6 alongside Romans 5. Read the practical commands of Ephesians 4–6 alongside the blessings of Ephesians 1–3.
The same Bible that announces forgiveness calls us to holiness, generosity, truthfulness, sexual integrity, and sacrificial love.
A faithful understanding of grace makes room for everything God says.
3. Practice Specific Repentance
General admissions can become a way of avoiding specific change.
Instead of stopping at “Nobody’s perfect,” ask:
- What am I excusing that Scripture calls sin?
- Who has been hurt by my choices?
- What needs to be confessed, repaired, or stopped?
- What practical step would help me obey today?
Repentance includes turning toward God. That may mean apologizing without excuses, making restitution, changing a habit, or asking someone trustworthy for help.
These actions do not earn forgiveness. They express a sincere response to it.
4. Depend on the Holy Spirit
Christian growth requires more than determination. Galatians 5:16–25 connects a transformed life with walking by the Spirit.
Pray for help. Spend time in Scripture. Stay connected to a healthy church. Receive correction. Build habits that make obedience easier and temptation harder to indulge.
When you fail, return to Christ honestly. His mercy gives you a reason to get up and keep walking.
5. Make Accountability an Expression of Love
We need people who will encourage us and tell us the truth.
A healthy church makes room for confession without humiliation and correction without cruelty. It also refuses to confuse kindness with silence.
Galatians 6:1 calls for gentle restoration. Gentleness matters because the goal is to help someone return to faithful living. Restoration matters because sin cannot simply be ignored.
Grace Gives Us a New Way to Live
Antinomianism promises freedom by removing the need for obedience. But returning to the patterns Christ rescued us from does not lead to freedom.
Jesus offers forgiveness, a new identity, and the power to begin living differently.
We do not try to persuade God to love us. We obey because, in Christ, we have received His love and are learning to trust Him.a
