But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken falsely against the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to drive you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall eliminate the evil from among you. (v. 5)

There are numerous people in the world who claim that they are Christian theologians, priests, ministers, teachers, and/or prophets. It is difficult to judge who is right or wrong. False prophets have one thing in common. That is they deny the teachings of Christ.

As verse 5 shows, God is “God who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery”. All false Christians deny absolute grace. They believe that they are saved because of their good works and obedience to the law of God. The reason why I strongly object to the Covenant Theology and the Active Obedience of Christ (AOC) is because they deny absolute grace. They lead us back to Egypt.

Interestingly, those who rely on the works of the law do evil things and live an immoral life. The AOC promotes both legalism and antinomianism and it has been criticized by many Christians. Legalism and antinomianism may seem different but their root is the same. They oppose Christ.

The Roman Catholic church rejected the Protestants in the 16th century claiming that they were libertines and law-breakers. But we know from many history books that the Roman Catholic church was extremely corrupt at that time and even now. By denying the absolute grace of God, false teachers and prophets think they uphold the law and bring order to a society. And that was what happened in 17th century England when the Protestant ministers gave the AOC a new face to rule the nation with the law of God.

All true Christians uphold the law not because we fear that we will lose our salvation by disobeying God. We love the law because its foundation is God’s self-sacrificing love. We all know that we cannot save anyone by making them keep the law. We do not harm or kill anyone for not keeping the law of God because keeping it is from the change of the heart. Chapter 13 tells us what will happen to those who try to take Christians back to slavery in the end. God will punish them eternally.

Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written: “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord. (Romans 12:19)

In this evil age, we must remember what grace of God truly means.