Flavel and Piper on Antinomianism

by Jun 19, 2013ChurchLife, Piety

According to Flavel, antinomians fail to

distinguish, as they ought, between vindictive punishment from God, the pure issues and effects of his justice and wrath against the wicked; and his paternal castigations, the pure issues of the care and love of a displeased father. Great and manifold are the differences between his vindictive wrath upon his enemies, and the rebukes of the rod upon his children. Those are legal; these out of love. Those unsanctified; but these blessed and sanctified to happy ends and purposes to his people. Those for destruction, these for salvation. —A Blow at the Root of Antinomianism (Philadelphia: Presbyterian Board of Publication, 1840), 75.

HT: Josh Young’s BJU PhD dissertation (unlinkable at the moment)

And here’s John Piper (around 45:25 in the first video) addressing a related tendency* in our day:

In [2 Corinthians] 7:1, Paul makes “fear of God” the motive of Chrsitain holiness. “Since God promises to be your father”—6:18—“bring holiness to completion in the fear of God.” What is it about the judgment [in 2 Cor. 5:10] that is so serious, or produces this fear in verse 11? [What is it that] makes it so motivating for holiness in a right, godly, gospel, not legalistic way?

Don’t let your theology dictate here: “Woah, if we preach this, we’re just going to produce legalists who just try to get into the favor of God, blah, blah, blah…”

Look, the Bible is the Bible; you’re not! Don’t tell the Bible what it should say! Say what it says, and labor all your life to put the pieces together! Don’t bring your little “gospel” paradigm over here that’s so limited… so limited! Make it big with all the Bible! You won’t lose the gospel, you’ll have a biblical one.

*Flavel’s quote focuses on a Hebrews 12 chastisement; Piper’s focuses on a 2 Cor 5 eschatological judgment—of believers—which is even more alien to current conservative evangelical thinking. It’s a topic I’m eager to read more about in Josh’s dissertation. A verbal summary of it was instructive and, believe it or not, very edifying.

Read More 

Why My Church Has Closed

Why My Church Has Closed

I am an extremely minor public figure, sort of semi-public. Sort of like the Richard Dean Anderson of redheaded Christian YouTubers. The guy you sort of think maybe you’ve heard of, but you can’t place him. So I need to make a small semi-public statement about the...

Answer a Fool According to His Folly, or Answer Not?

Answer a Fool According to His Folly, or Answer Not?

I want to talk through a super common issue on the internet. I invite your wisdom and input; I also invite your prayer. Because I want and need—desperately need—divine wisdom for whether and how to answer all kinds of internet comments from all kinds of strangers with...

Review: Small Preaching by Jonathan Pennington

Review: Small Preaching by Jonathan Pennington

Small Preaching: 25 Little Things You Can Do Now to Become a Better Preacher, by Jonathan Pennington (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2021). Very few pp.Great little title. Punchy and short. Genuinely full of wisdom. The three things that stood out to me most: The very...

Review: Eat This Book by Eugene Peterson

Review: Eat This Book by Eugene Peterson

Eat This Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading by Eugene H. PetersonMy rating: 5 of 5 starsI've said before that I'm an emotional reader. My five stars for this book represent my rapture at great prose and, more...

Leave a comment.

0 Comments