In Part 2 of his book, Farley takes on the law, sin, and Adam and Eve’s
illicit activity in the Garden of Eden.
One can understand the title of the section, given the past experience
Farley had with “legalistic religion” rather than grace infused Christianity. In that, he is right—“religion” is
a headache!
In this section, we will examine three of Farley’s arguments in this
regard, that is, (a) the Law has nothing to do with the fruit of the Spirit,
(b) Adam and Eve did not sin, and (c) the pursuit of godliness or
sanctification is off the table.
The Moral Law and Antinomianism
While there is no argument that Christ fulfilled the ceremonial law and
eliminated it with his voluntary, sacrificial death on the cross, one must
consider two questions posed by Farley, who asked, “So if you’re a Christian, what place should the law have in your
life?” (p.48) The implied answer is “none!” He also asked, “But should Christians still look to the Ten Commandments as their
moral guide?” (p.54) Farley says that no one can keep the law, and he is
absolutely right! But he then makes
a giant leap, casting aside the moral law. He answered the questions he posed at page 48 and page 54
when he wrote about his confrontation with pastors at a conference in
Chihuahua: “After several minutes
of absorbing heated comments, I realized that what angered them the most was my
insistence that Christians are even free
from the Ten Commandments” (p. 57, emphasis added). As will be shown below, that is classic
Antinomianism.
To support his theory that the law has nothing to do with believers,
