Antinomies of the Christian Faith

Antinomies are two statements that are apparently contradictory but yet both true. Biblical theology contain several antinomies, and recognizing them are crucial to understand the Christian faith and not go astray. Below are some key antinomies that often cause confusion today. I have listed after each point some verses of the Bible that support it.

• We are secure in our identity as adopted sons of God, but we must fear God until we truly have conformed to the image of Christ, keeping his commandments, loving Him and loving others, so God's love is perfected in us. (Romans 8:15-17, Matthew 10:28, 1 John 2:5, 1 John 4:16b-18.)
• Salvation is a free gift from God and fruits of righteousness come not from ourselves but through abiding in Christ, but we must work out our own salvation with fear and trembling and press on toward salvation and make every effort to be more like Christ. (Romans 3:21, Ephesians 2:9-10, Romans 8:29, Philippians 1:11, Philippians 2:12, Philippians 3:11, 2 Peter 1:5-11.)
• Christ is the propitiation (cover) for our sins and in Him we become the righteousness of God and in Him we have free gift of righteousness imputed through faith and faith alone, yet we will give an account before Him for every deed, idle word, and everything done in the body, whether good or evil. (Romans 3:21-23, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 5:17, 4:3-6, Psalms 62:12, Ecclesiastes 12:14, Matthew 12:36-37, Romans 2:6-11, Romans 14:10-12, 1 Peter 1;17, 2 Corinthians 5:10, Galatians 6:7-8, 1 John 3:4-7.)
• Christ's blood is sufficient to cover every sin, past, present and future; yet every sin matters; we cannot slack off in obedience at the margin. (1 John 1:9-2:2, Romans 5:16, Romans 8:1, Romans 10:9-10, 1 John 2:1, Romans 6:1-2, Romans 8:12-13, Galatians 5:21b, Philippians 3:18-19, Ephesians 5:5, Philippians 2:15-16, 1 John 3:6, 5:18, Hebrews 6:4-8, Hebrews 4:11-13, Philippians 3:10-14, 1 Timothy 6:12-14, 1 Peter 1:14-17, 2 Peter 2:19-22)

Recognizing and internalizing these antinomies is crucial to avoid the twin heresies of work salvation (earning love of God) and cheap grace (abusing love of God). One way to reconcile God's unconditional grace and the need for us to work is reward theology: heaven is by God's election, not our choice; but heaven is not the same for everyone, those who obey better in this life earns eternal rewards in heaven. However, this last point is not described clearly in the Bible. Nevertheless, whatever system one uses to make sense of these antinomies, one has to learn to tread carefully the fine line to avoid debilitating potholes on the path to follow Christ.