The word antinomianism comes from the Greek anti (against) and nomos (law). It refers to
the doctrine that it is not necessary for Christians to obey the moral law. In other words, faith
frees the Christian from such obligations.
Though antithetical to Scripture, this view is popularly embraced by many who hold
influencial positions on radio and TV in our day and believe the teaching of "Once Saved,
Always Saved" (OSAS). Under the heading of the carnal Christian, OSAS teachers have
especially spread such. The following are some of their actual teachings:
To read into carnal and openly teach, as the aforementioned OSAS teachers do, is to
dangerously distort the image of true Christianity. By fabricating this new type of
Christian, who is behaving just like the darkened, God-hating, hell-bound, Christ
rejecters, multitudes are being deceived. Some are even re-opened to the greatest
possible danger of being thrown into eternal fire, yet are unaware of it.
Besides the immediate context of 1 Cor. 3:3, this OSAS concept of the carnal Christian
is also refuted Scripturally by the following:
And so, sometimes out of ignorance or whatever it might be, they attempt to gratify and
meet those needs the same way they did before they were saved, and therefore, you
can't tell a carnal believer from a lost man. That is, you can't tell the cold from the
carnal because the truth is, they're both acting the same way. Now, one of them is in
Christ and one of them isn't. One of them is lost and the other one is in Christ. One of
them knows about God and knows him in the experience of salvation; the other doesn't
know him at all.(1)
As far as overt behavior is concerned, a carnal believer cannot be distinguished from
an unbeliever.(2)
So according to popular teachers of our day, a carnal Christian behaves the same way as
the unsaved! Sadly others, besides the ones just mentioned, have been teaching the same way,
yet they seemingly go unchallenged.
Paul can only mean that these carnal Corinthians lived like unsaved men. That
clarifies why the word carnal can label both unbelievers and believers, simply because
the lifestyles of both are the same. The cure for the unbeliever's carnality is salvation;
the cure for the believer's is to grow in the Lord (italics his).(3)
Carnal To have the characteristics of an unsaved life either because one is an unbeliever
or because though a believer, one is living like an unsaved person (italics his).(4)
Chuck Swindoll made a similar assertion about one's understanding of the carnal Christian:
Let me clarify something because many, many in the family of God have no room in
their theology for the carnal Christian, which creates tremendous confusion. If you
don't understand the carnal Christian, you will begin to believe that you have
fallen from grace. You will believe that you have been born again and then you will
think later when you do these number of things, you have not been born again.(5)
According to Chuck Swindoll, one may have a misconception about falling from grace
unless he understands the OSAS carnal Christian teaching! Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be
deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes
nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor
swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9,10, NIV).
First, Paul stated by question form the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God (1
Cor. 6:9), then told us in the next verse how to identify someone who is wicked from their
behavior. The sexually immoral, drunkards and the greedy, among others, are included in this
group and will, therefore, be excluded from the kingdom, unless they turn from their sins. No
exception is made for one who previously believed on Christ. This is the true grace
teaching, according to Scripture. Dear reader, do not be deceived by the glib-speaking, OSAS
teachers in our day, who will always present grace in a different way and speak as to appeal
to those having "itching ears" (2 Tim. 4:3).
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