(This is one of three articles exposing Antoine Holloway.  The other two can be found at the following links:

http://www.wordsoftruth.net/wordsoftruthbull03_14_2004.html

http://www.wordsoftruth.net/wordsoftruthbull03_28_2004.html

Please read all of the articles).

     According to Antoine Holloway (in a sermon preached on the 14th of September, 2003 at the Caroline Street church of Christ in South Bend, IN) remission is: “a medical term meaning it is still there, but I cannot find it.”  In that same sermon he says: “When God gives us the forgiveness of sins, we understand, through our studies of the scriptures, that in order for us to receive the remission of sins (God’s already forgiven us), but in order for us to receive the remission of sins (which is required for us to be saved) the Bible teaches we have to hear the Gospel, believe the Gospel, repent of our sins, confess Christ, and be baptized.  Once we are baptized God puts our sin in remission.”  (HEAR THESE ERRORS BY CLICKING HERE)  He goes on to say at the end of his lesson during the invitation: “Your sins have already been forgiven 2,000 years ago.  It’s your responsibility now to have them remitted (Acts chapter two verse thirty-eight).”  (HEAR THIS QUOTE BY CLICKING HERE)  Antoine’s errors on Unconditional Forgiveness (which will be exposed in future articles) and his teachings on remission of sins, sounds very much like the Calvinistic views taught in Baptist and Holiness churches.  The word of God and Antoine Holloway differ on these things.

      When we discuss Biblical terms it is sometimes important to do a word study.  In the case of the word translated “remission” (Greek word “aphesis”) it is not a difficult thing to do.  One of the simple ways to begin a word study is to find a word and then use Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible to get a number for the Greek word being translated into the English word you are studying.  In our case, let us use the word “remission” as it is found in Matthew 26:28.  The Strong’s number for the word translated “remission” in that verse is 859.  The word “aphesis” translated in that verse as “remission” means: “forgiveness or pardon, of sins (letting them go as if they had never been committed), remission of the penalty” (Joseph H. Thayer, Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, page 88, Reprint by Hendrickson, 2002, original copyright 1896).

     It is also profitable in a word study to sometimes find other verses of the Bible with that same Greek word in them and to see what those passages show the word to mean.  In the case of the Greek word “aphesis” it is found in 17 verses in the New Testament of the King James Version of the Bible and is translated as remission (9 times), forgiveness (6 times), deliverance (1 time), and liberty (1 time).   It appears translated as remission in these verses: Matthew 26:28, Mark 1:4, Luke 1:77, Luke 3:3, Luke 24:47, Acts 2:38, Acts 10:43, Hebrews 9:22, and Hebrews 10:18.  With very little studying one finds that in each case remission is never concluded in the Holy Writ to mean covering up of our sins or anything akin to that.  The word by context and Greek definition means as Thayer defined it “forgiveness or pardon, of sins (letting them go as if they had never been committed), remission of the penalty.”

     What we do know is that Jesus shed his blood for the remission of our sins (Matthew 26:28).  We know that we receive salvation through the remission of our sins (Luke 1:77).  We know that we are baptized to have our sins remitted (Acts 2:38).  We know that without the shedding of the blood of Christ there would be no remission of sins (Hebrews 9:22; 10:18).  To argue Antoine’s argument is to make the blood of Christ of no effect on our salvation, for the blood of bulls and goats would be sufficient to “cover up” our sins (Hebrews 10:1-12).  One thing the blood of bulls and goats cannot do is take away our sins (Hebrews 10:4).  However, the blood of Christ was sufficient in this regard (Revelation 1:5; cf. Ephesians 1:7 and Colossians 1:13-14).  Notice what John wrote: (I John 3:5) “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.”  To teach otherwise is to teach damnable Calvinistic doctrine and to make implications about God that are at the very least ignorant.

     When one argues that sins are just covered up and hidden from the sight of God they are arguing that God is not all-knowing.  However, the Scriptures conclude otherwise: (I Chronicles 28:9) “And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.”  (Psalms 44:21) “Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.”  (Hebrews 4:13) “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.”  How can anyone deny these clear Biblical facts?  God cannot hide something from Himself and forget where it is.  He can however completely remove something, and then it will not be before Him.  For this we need to be grateful, for sins separate man from God (Isaiah 59:1-2), and those sins not forgiven will keep someone from Heaven (II Corinthians 5:10 and Romans 6:23).

     If sins are just covered up (as Antoine is teaching), that implies that once converted you are the old man underneath a new garment.  However, the Bible concludes otherwise on this point as well: (II Corinthians 5:17) “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”  God does not lie to us (Titus 1:2).  God promised, even in the Old Testament, to forgive us of our sins (those obedient to the Gospel) and remember them no more under the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34).  This fact was not forgotten in the pages of the New Testament (Hebrews 8:8-12 and Hebrews 10:15-17), nor has the promise gone unfulfilled in Christ (I John 1:9).  In the words of the Hebrew penman: (Hebrews 10:18) “Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.”

     Jesus said: (Matthew 26:28) “For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”  The question “what does the remission of sins mean” is significant to the salvation of all our souls.  It is not a difficult question, and in my mind has always been simple to understand.  When Jesus died He did not do so to cover up sins, but to take them away from those who obey the Gospel (Acts 2:38).  Why would anyone want to deny that?

     It saddens me to have to write an article such as this one exposing the errors of a man whom I love and had high hopes for.  It saddens me that I made a trip to visit Antoine Holloway to find a brother unwilling to answer his door.  At this time the body of Christ is under attack from many different fronts.  The denominational world has influenced our brethren to the highest of degrees.  This is not a time (not that there ever is a time) in which anyone should glory at the loss of a zealous brother in Christ like Antoine Holloway to the grip of the wicked one.  Attempts to restore this brother (James 5:20, Jude 22-23, and Galatians 6:1) have been at this point futile, so pointed articles such as this one need to be written to warn others of the dangers this brother presents to the cause of Christ (Romans 16:17-18).

     In my estimation, Antoine Holloway taught a doctrine that he was not sure of and his pride has kept him from repenting of his errors.  Since then, he has made attempts to confuse the minds of brethren in South Bend, IN by saying he made “linguistic mistakes” and that they just misunderstood what he was teaching.  The quotes submitted at the beginning of this article are not just “linguistic mistakes”, they are damnable false doctrines.  False teachers are cunning and sly drawing away many disciples after themselves (II Peter 2:1-3).  Antoine foretold the brethren in South Bend of the division he was planning from what he said in a sermon on September 14th, of 2003 (P.M. Sermon): “...if the issue (speaking of the differences at the Caroline St. COC over Antoine’s teaching of unconditional forgiveness – B.A.Y.) goes unresolved – if it goes - if it doesn’t dissolve itself (via the word of God), this congregation is heading for another split.”  (HEAR THIS QUOTE BY CLICKING HERE)

     The next article of this bulletin will deal with Antoine’s false teachings on Unconditional Forgiveness.  The online version of this bulletin is equipped with sound clips to prove the authenticity of the quotes.  Please pray for Antoine and the brethren in South Bend, IN.  Pray for the Caroline Street church of Christ that they may continue to earnestly contend for the faith.