Sound doctrine Vs Radical grace ?: To preach repentance or not to preach repentance ?

Can we receive grace without knowing or preaching how to receive grace ?
I will tell the grace preachers or radical grace preachers, You have been preaching about grace or radical grace, but have you ever tell the sinners how to receive grace?
Radical grace preachers will say, "Oh, I thought grace is free. It is given without us doing anything. All the sinners will receive grace and favours effortlessly if they believe in Jesus. So, why do you still ask people to do many things to receive grace ? All we need to do is just hear, think, confess, and believe in Jesus or Grace. We will just need to hear and believe only, and grace will just come automatically and effortlessly without us doing anything. Do you know the finished work of Jesus? If you must do, do nothing ! However, doing repentance was an old doctrine. Under the Old Testament until the time of John the Baptist, people were told to repent or do repentance. But under the New Covenant, things have changed. We have found a better covenant ie. the covenant of grace. We just think of grace, preach grace, confess grace, and believe grace. We should preach 'doing nothing' as grace or God's doctrine for our life; not any law or repentance which are difficult for our life. We believe that true believers will never sin and will never have the need to confess sin before God because all our past, present, and future sins have been forgiven. Hence, 1 John 1:9 and repentance is no longer applicable for us. However, if we, Christians, were to fall into the temptation and committed adulteries, no one can say that we have sinned. It is because God would not see it as sin too. We will just need to confess righteousness and take Holy Communion frequently and we would get rid of any sin conscience and condemnation. We will just prosper. Halellujah, this is the goodnews for all of us. How can we reject such a gospel that is too good to be true?"
I will tell them, Do you agree that the finished work of Jesus is the beginning of our work too? If you read the Bible, you will know that all the sinners have been taught on how to receive grace. The only way to receive grace according to the words of the Lord in the Bible is - Repentance and the works meet for repentance. It must be sincere repentance with fruits worthy of repentance (Mat 3:8, Luk 3:8). Without repentance, no one can see God and come to God for grace. That's why Jesus and all His disciples would not just preach grace or just the name of Jesus; they preached repentance in the name of Jesus. They preached about how to receive grace (or repentance) in the name of Jesus. Hence, preaching of grace without preaching of how to receive grace (or repentance) will not lead the sinners to the grace of Jesus Christ under His covenant. It may lead to vain and complicated mind changing philosophy or Old Testament favours; however, it will never lead to God's grace under the New Covenant through the simplicity and preaching of Jesus Christ.

Mat 4:17 KJV From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Luk 5:32 KJV I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

I will tell them, Yes, repentance may be an old doctrine, but it is not an Old Testament doctrine. It could be a very basic and old doctrine but it does not mean that it is unimportant doctrine. In fact, it is so basic and important, for every believer who are saved, that the Apostles would think that something was wrong if they would still need to teach the believers to know how to be saved again:

Heb 5:11-14 KJV Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. (12) For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. (13) For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. (14) But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil ... (6:1) Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, (2) Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. (3) And this will we do, if God permit.

Of course, all the above doctrines are important for the gospel of salvation. It would be ridiculous if we say that we should ignore them and stop preaching them because they are too basic for the believers. No, some believers who have not grown up would still need to be taught repentance, baptism, faith, and eternal judgement again and again .. Unfortunately this is still true for our churches today.

Grace, repentance, and many other fundamental doctrines are indispensable; they are not mutually exclusive
I will tell them, If you read the Bible, you will know that all sinners have been taught on how to receive grace under the New Covenant by Jesus Himself (see all His parables eg. the parable of the prodigal son, the rich man and Lazarus, the Pharisee and the publican who prayed in the temple .. etc. How can the parables and teaching of the Lord be old doctrine if He specifically commanded His disciples to teach all that He had commanded them before His resurrection and also after His resurrection too ? The disciples had preached repentance before His resurrection (Mar 6:12-13), but they could only understand it fully after the Lord's resurrection when He opened their eyes to believe the scriptures in Luk 24:25-47. At the end of the Lord's thorough exposition of the scriptures, they were commanded to preach repentance - Isn't this the crux of the whole scriptures, the whole gospel, and His main ministry? Will Jesus change it by telling us to preach only remission of sins, blessings, prosperity, or the goodness of God instead ? No way !

Luk 24:25-47 KJV Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: (26) Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? (27) And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself .. (31) And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. (32) And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures? .. (44) And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. (45) Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, (46) And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: (47) And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
Act 26:19-20 KJV Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: (20) But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance. (Paul did not change the gospel and disobey Christ even though he might preach grace strongly to those who were under the law; but he preached repentance even more strongly as he travelled around the coasts of Judea and outside Jerusalem.)

I will tell them, Of course, we can still preach God, open the eyes of people with the scriptures, and bring Jesus out of the Old Covenant; but did Jesus tell us to stop there? No, Jesus have shown us very clearly that it is not enough; we must preach repentance AND remission of sins with all the scriptures Luk 24:25-47.
Yes, Of course, some preachers may just want to preach only the remission of sins, the goodness of God, prosperity, God's blessings, grace .. and deliberately leave out the preaching of repentance. They argue that repentance has gone out of fashion and that only grace will remain forever under the new covenant. However, I don't think Jesus had ever preached like this. He had shown us with the scriptures that without repentance (or preaching of repentance through His name), there is no remission of sins or grace under His new covenant.
Yes, Of course, you can preach that Jesus is love, Jesus is your prosperity, Jesus is grace, Jesus is .. ;but have you forgotten that the Pharisees had preached it too. They preached that God was the truth, God was their prosperity, and God was their favour too (Luk 18:11), but they would never repent (Mat 3:7-8). Some of them could have become radical by preaching 'the reverse' and thought that the law was their God, prosperity was their God, and favour was their God too. Today, it is no secret that many preachers have become radical in preaching that love is Jesus, prosperity is their Jesus, favour is their Jesus, and grace is their Jesus too. However, they have not worshipped God; they have only worshipped the gift of God - they have worshipped an idol. Grace is not Jesus (or God) because grace is a gift of God and it came from Jesus:

Joh 1:16-17 KJV And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. (17) For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

Yes, Jesus is grace; but grace is not Jesus Christ. Yes, many radical grace preachers may argue that it does not matter if they preach it in any way they like, even if they preach 'the reverse'; but unknown to them, it reveals that they are not truly from God. If they are truly anointed, they would not make such a foolish 'plunder' in preaching God or God's truth. They may argue that they are truly God's beloved or God's anointed prophets - Don't believe them:

Mat 24:23-26 KJV Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. (24) For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. (25) Behold, I have told you before. (26) Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.

Do we need radical grace, radical revolution, or just simple repentance ?
I have talked and discussed about what repentance is and why we need to do repentance.

Just a recap of what we have discussed: What is repentance ?
I would agree with the radical grace preachers that repentance is to change our minds; but it is more than just changing our minds as sinners. In the Bible, we can find the word 'repent' used by both the sinners (Luk 16:30) and God (Exo 32:12 KJV). Hence, we cannot define 'repentance' by the sinners as the same attitude or action taken by God too. Of course due to the limitation of our language, we may say that both the sinners and God 'changed their minds' when they 'repented'. But 'repentance' by the sinners must be interpreted as 'change of mind by a sinner', not the similar change of mind by God. When a sinner changed his mind, he turned from his old sinful way because he knew that he has sinned and that it was wrong for him to remain in his sins; but when God changed His mind, He just changed His plan, His course of action, or His covenant. Of course, only the Holy one or God can do so whenever He 'repents'. However, sinners must admit, confess, and turn from their sins whenever they repent before God. Hence, if we believe in the lies that we do not need to turn away from our sins when we repent, we have been greatly deceived because there are only 3 category of beings who will not confess any sin or turn from any sin. They will just change their minds when they repent and we should not belong to any of these categories:
1. God
2. The angels
3. The Pharisees or the liars (1Jn 1:9-10, 1Jn 2:4)

Hence I will not want to repeat what I have said about repentance, instead we will just focus more on the question of whether we will still need to preach repentance. Most of us have been totally confused by radical grace preachers who promote radical grace or radical revolution. We know that they are preaching grace; however, unknown to many of us, they could be preaching against the repentance message of the Lord or the repentance preachers too. They are so afraid of repentance that they would just accuse all the repentance preachers (who ask them to repent) as preachers of condemnation or self-righteousness. Later they would just argue vehemently that they have 'repented' too when they have 'believed only'.
I will tell them, If the world is still rebellious in their sin and lawlessness, the people of the world will still need to repent like the Jews or the Gentiles who repented in those days when the Lord and the Apostles would preach repentance to everyone. We have no excuse even if we are grace preachers.

Luk 24:45-48 KJV Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, (46) And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: (47) And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (48) And ye are witnesses of these things.
Act 17:30 KJV And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

Hence, it is meaningless to preach radical grace or revolution to them when they need to repent first. If they repent according to the command of the Lord, they will receive grace automatically. Grace will come to every sinners who repent without the need of preaching any radical revolution.
They will argue, "You have misunderstood us. Every Sunday when we preach grace, we also preach repentance too. When we preach and ask people to believe, we are actually asking them to 'repent', to 'metanoia', or to change their minds too. Of course, we believe in repentance; however, we believe that repentance is just to believe only or to change their minds only, not to turn away from their sins. Hence, there is always repentance every where we go.. or every time when we preach the gospel .. "
I will tell them, No, there is no repentance. Please think, If people do not believe in turning away from sin, will they still turn away from their sins ? No, they will never truly repent or turn away from their sinful lives even though you may keep arguing that grace will lead them to true repenance without you preaching it.

Most radical grace preachers did not preach repentance
I will tell them, Please stop confusing the people. You may confuse those who will never repent; but not us. You may argue that you have believed or preached repentance, but you have NEVER PREACHED it. Your repentance or your belief to repent is to believe to believe only or to change your minds only. You will never preach repentance because you have said,

"We will just need to preach grace. And Grace or goodness of God would us lead to repentance.." Hence, you have never preach repentance or have the conviction to preach repentance. You expect people to repent automatically without any preaching of repentance ! Hence, if you insist that you have preached repentance, you are lying. You may deceive yourselves that you are preaching repentance. However, you know that you do not have the conviction to preach it. Please think, How can you have the conviction to preach repentance if you would think that everyone will repent automatically ? Please think, if God would like people to repent automatically, He would just create robots which would repent automatically. Do you think God would still want men to repent with their own free will ? No, this world would not have any sinners too because all men will do good automatically and will never sin too. This is ridiculous ! Do you know that you have contradicted the words of the Lord in Mat 18:32-34 when He showed us in the parable that grace or the goodness of God may not lead some people to true repentance ? Since the Lord's teaching contradicts against yours now, will you just tell the people that all His parables and teaching has become obsolete and therefore we must listen only to the gospel that Paul preached or you preached ? If you do so, you are a false 'anointed' prophet who is scheming to get the glory of God by turning the people from the repentance message of the Lord to your own lies and cunning philosophies.
"The blood of Jesus has cleansed all our sins including all our past, present, and future sins." Why would you say so? Obviously, you would teach your believers and all the sinners that they would not need to repent any more. No more future sins? Therefore, no more need to repent? That's deceiving. Are you saying that once you have believed in Jesus, you would not sin or that you would never need to repent any more. When one of you, one of your pastors, one of your believers, or one of your congregation committed adultery, would you deceive yourselves and the whole church that it is no more a sin which needs repentance? Or would you just distance yourselves from that person and insist that none of you could ever commit adultery or sin because all of you are the true believers of grace? However, it is disheartening to see more and more preachers and believers of grace who would divorce their wives to marry younger and prettier wives and insist that they are under grace and have never sinned.
"Believers will never confess their sins to God. They are too righteous to confess any sin after all their sins have been totally consumed by the blood of Jesus .. It's because the Bible tells us that 1 John 1:9 is not for us.. In fact, God tells me in 'a still small voice' that 1 John 1:9 is not for us but for the agnostics.." If God tells you that 1 John 1:9 is not for you, I can tell you that the whole book of Hebrews, Romans, and Galatians are not for you too. Why? It is because they were origninally written to the Jewish believers, not to us .. Can you swallow it? Otherwise, please don't deceive the people. If you can still preach from the book of Hebrews and Galatians to the Gentiles, please don't lie that we cannot preach from 1 John 1:9 to the people. If Paul confessed that he was the chief of all sinners in 1Ti 1:15, what's wrong if the believers would confess and repent of their sins before God too, especially if they have committed adulteries or serious crimes. Do you know why Jesus would teach His disciples to confess their sins in Luk 11:4 ? It's because repentance and confession of sins is a continuous daily process. It is still for the believers. Will it remind us of our sin conscience before God ? Of course. Yes, it will remind us of our sin conscience to repent; but not the sin conscience of the Jews to offer sacrifice like them in Heb 10:2. Hence, you could have unknowingly rejected the Lord even though you've confessed the name of the Lord beautifully and radically like those in Mat 7:15-23. The false prophets argued that they had obeyed the Lord in everything that they did. But please think, If they could not do and follow the teaching of the Lord closely, it was useless for them to preach, prophesy, teach, and expound lawless or iniquity doctrines creatively in the name of the Lord. They might even sing beautiful songs in the name of the Lord eg. - "The Lord is the centre of my life" or "I always put Him first in my life". But the Lord would still reject them. Mat 7:23 LITV And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; "depart from Me, those working lawlessness!"

They may argue that they have preached repentance because they have always asked the people to repent and believe. I will tell them, You did not preach true repentance or the repentance that Jesus preached because you have never told the sinners that they must admit sins and repent from their sins:

Your repentance is only just believing and changing your minds. When Jesus preached repentance or the baptism of repentance to the people, He did not just tell them to believe only; but He told them to repent AND believe: Mar 1:14-15 KJV Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, (15) And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. Luk 24:45-47 KJV Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures .. (47) And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. Did you see the word 'and' ? It means that we do not just preach remission of sins and the goodness of God (which may lead to repentance); but we preach repentance. It would be ridiculous to change His words and say, "Jesus opened their understanding that they might understand the scriptures .. and that only believing and remission of sins should be preached.."
Your repentance is not a true repentance or change of mind towards your sin or your lawlessness; but it is only your change of mind towards your self-righteousness, pride, worry, fear, and bad habits. Yes, you are right to preach that self-righteousness cannot save us. But we don't just repent from self-righteousness or wrong thinking, like the Pharisees; we must also repent from the real sin that we have inherited from Adam because of lawless rebellion against God - ie. to repent from the inner rebellion God and against all God's laws, Bible values, Godly principles, and commandments.

Do we need to preach repentance ?
Radical grace preachers will argue, "Repentance is believing only! If we believe in Jesus, we would have repented and we would be saved. We do not need to do repentance with a lot of recompense, restoration, or turning away from sins. Hence, we do not need to preach about it. People will just repent automatically like the adulterous woman in John 8:10-11. Did Jesus say, 'Repent, repent' to the woman? No, the goodness of the Lord would simply lead her to repentance. We should just preach Jesus or ask people to believe in Jesus.When they believe in Jesus they will repent automatically .."
I will ask them, Did Jesus tell you to do so? Did He say that you should preach grace instead of repentance? Obviously you do not know why He has to come to the sinners, call the sinners to repentance (Mat 9:13), and command those who have repented to preach repentance (Luk 24:45-48). You said that you do not need to do repentance with a lot of recompense or turning away from sins. Do you know that Zacchaeus repented by doing a lot of recompense ? Did Jesus say that he did not have to do so much ? No. Jesus wanted the Jews to repent like Zacchaeus to be saved:

Luk 19:8-10 KJV And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. (9) And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. (10) For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

You said that Jesus would never say, "Repent, repent" to the sinners because He did not say it to the adulterous woman or the thief nailed on the cross beside Him. I will tell them how do you know that He had never said it before He came to them ? They could have heard of Jesus and His frequent preaching of repentance before they met Him. They knew that everyone who came to Him or believed in Him must repent. In fact, Jesus told the adulterous woman to repent even after He had forgiven her. How do I know that ? Please read your Bible again:

Joh 8:10-11 KJV When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? (11) She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

Repentance is still for every believer who has been forgiven
Jesus told her to sin no more or turn from her sins. Jesus told her to repent even after she had been forgiven. Hence, believers can still repent after they have been forgiven of their sins too. Repentance is a constant and humble attitude or process in which one will constantly admit and confess his sins whenever he knows that he has sinned or done wrong. Hence, 1 John 1:9 is still a provision applicable to every believer who has been forgiven too:

1Jn 1:7-10 KJV But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (8) If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (10) If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Luk 11:2-4 KJV And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. (3) Give us day by day our daily bread. (4) And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. (Here in this Bible passage, Jesus did not tell the disciples to confess their sins only once; instead He told them to do it whenever they prayed. That means confessing their sins after they had been forgiven was not an insult to God. Neither will it be an insult to God if we confess our sins too. Of course, radical grace preachers who would never repent or confess any future sin would argue that Jesus' prayer has become obsolete. I will discuss about it next time.)

Would Jesus tell us to repent ?
They will argue, "How about the thief on the cross ? Jesus did not tell him to repent, to sin no more, to turn from his sins, or to do any recompense. But Jesus just reassured him that he would be with him in paradise (Luk 23:42-43)."
I will tell them, Jesus would tell you the same thing too if you are nailed on the cross too. However, please use your brain to think, If you are a dying man like the thief on the cross, can you come down from the cross ? No, you would be stuck there forever. Of course, Jesus would not tell you, 'Go, and sin no more'. Of course, He would not need to tell a dying man to repent, to sin no more, to turn from his sins, or to do any recompense.
However, if you are a vigorous people, like the people of Sodom and Gomorrha who can still shout vehemently, scream, yell, and preach rebelliously, and turn people into cities of sins with no repentance of sins, you need to repent.
They will argue, "No, We can never be the people of Sodom and Gomorrha. We, the people of the end time, are the Benjamin generation who are better and who are less sinful. Hence, stop condemning the people. They will not sin like the people of Sodom and Gomorrha. They will only need to hear the gospel of grace; not the gospel of repentance. When they hear the goodness of God, the goodness of God will lead them to repentance. Preaching like this is more effective than the preaching of repentance.. In fact, we don't preach repentance anymore; we preach the goodness of God. Please think if we have been made righteous and have no more sins, why do we still preach 'Repent repent' ? It would be condemnation to those who have repented .."
I will tell them, No, if you have truly repented, you would not find that the preaching of repentance is condemnation to those who would repent. Why ? It is because firstly it is the commandment of the Lord to preach repentance. Secondly, there are still people who need to hear it. Can you guarantee that there are no more people in your midst who are sinners or who have sinned ? No, if you cannot guarantee that your churches have no more people or believers who have sinned, you must still preach repentance. They will argue, "Ok, you are right. We may still have sinners or believers who have sinned, but preaching of repentance will not work. We must preach the goodness of God to them. When they know the goodness of God they will repent .."
I will tell them, Do you know the people of Sodom and Gomorrha ? They had probably seen more goodness of God than many other people or other cities because they could prosper more and become richer. But did they repent? No, they would not need any preacher to tell them the goodness of God any more; a preacher (like Jonah) to wake them up.

Do we need to preach the wake up call (to repentance) ?
They will argue, "Why do we need a preacher (like Jonah or like you) to tell us that we have sins ? People today would still sin day in and day out with or without a preacher of sin. Obviously, we don't have to preach about sins. We don't need any preacher to preach about repentance too. We just need the preachers to preach about the goodness of God.. they need to wake up to the goodness of God, not to sins.."
I will tell them, If you really think so, I would think that there is no need of preachers to preach about the goodness of God too. There are too many religious people, who are like the Pharisees, who know and believe in the goodness of God and boast about it (Luk 18:11-12), but too few people who know or humbly admit that they have sinned and that they need to repent and turn from their sins. Yes, you may then argue that, we don't need any preachers to wake us up to prosper or to repent too, for all will know how to repent or how to prosper; we just need to proclaim the name of Jesus. Therefore, we don't need any preachers to wake us up from our sins.."
Yes, I had probably thought so and could not answer you.... until I had a dream last week. I don't normally talk about dreams because I believe that God can speak more convincingly through His words in the Bible than 'his words' in my dreams. But this dream is very interesting.

My 'water tap' dream
In my dream, I dreamed that I woke up from my bed and went to the toilet. To my horror, I discovered that my stainless-steel tap, at the basin where I washed my face, had turned into a plastic tap of an inferior type. I remembered I had just renovated my house and wondered when did my contractor so conveniently changed it into a plastic tap without my knowledge. I quickly thought to myself, 'Could it be, This is all, but a dream ?' At that moment, I woke up. Remembering that I had just had a bad dream, I quickly rushed to the toilet again. But to my horror again, I could still find the same inferior plastic tap. At that moment, I woke up again. So, I quickly rushed to the toilet again; only to find that the repetition of what I discovered in my previous dreams. This process of waking up and rushing to the toilet again and again repeated three or four times.. until I heard a familiar voice which said, "Dear, do you need to go to work today ? It time to wake up !" This time, I woke up and so I quickly rushed to the toilet again. To my excitement, I screamed and shouted for joy when I saw the stainless-steel tap. "Thanks goodness, I have finally woken up !" I shouted and screamed to my wife, 'Thank you for waking me up', but she thought that I was insane. Ok, you may think that this is really funny but I have learnt something from it ..
So, what is the moral of my dream ? The moral of my dream is not God's speaking to me, that I should not trust my contractor; but it is the logic of the dreams that speaks to me, that we need others to wake us up. Sometimes, we may know that we need to wake up but we just couldn't .. until someone wakes us up ! So, who says, "We don't need others to wake us up" ?

Some of you may still ask, "Are you sure you've finally woken up ? You may be still in the dream.. Haha .." I will tell them, Yes, I may still need to wake up. In fact, we all need to wake up. Sometimes, we can only wake up if God Himself or God's preachers will wake us up.

Jesus knew that the sinners of the world would still sin like the people of Sodom and Gomorrha
They will still argue, "Ok, you want to be a preacher of sins and repentance to wake people up ? Go ahead and wake others up. Don't wake us up. We can never be the people like Sodom and Gomorrha who need the wake up call. Do you know that it is such an insult to compare us and all the people of the world to the people of Sodom and Gomorrha ? Today we don't come from the city of Sodom and Gomorrha; we come from the great cities of freedom, virtues, and human rights. We are from this city .. and that city.. of prosperity where there are lots of good works, education, health cares, and good values. Hence, we are good city and good people. We are much better or 100 times better than the sinners in Sodom and Gomorrha. So, please don't mention the people of Sodom and Gomorrha to remind us of our sins again and again. Our country would think that you are crazy if you tell them that they would still need to repent from sins. We have the best politics in the world. We have the cleanest government. There is zero corruption case in our country. Hence, how can you compare us to the people of Sodom and Gomorrha. Please don't mention Sodom and Gomorrha. We can never be the people of Sodom and Gomorrha. We are more civilised, more gracious, more generous, and more considerate than the people of Sodom. We are better than them. We just need to preach the goodness of God, and the goodness of God would automatically lead everyone to believe and repent. Haha heh.. this is the gospel - the goodnews that sin will never reign in us. It means that we will never heard of sin any more. For all who come to Him will become righteous and have power to sin no more .. Er, I mean 'power to prosper more' .. We just want to hear only the goodnews, not the bad news or any repentance. Repentance is bad news because it reminds us of sins, it reminds us to repent, and it will condemn us .. "
I will tell them, It will condemn you only if you refuse to repent. Your refusal to preach repentance has given the worldly people or the sinners the wrong impression that the gospel is all about goodnews and believing only. Have our society really become better than Sodom and Gomorrha so that we do not need to preach repentance?
The great city of Sodom and Gomorrha may probably have boasted like you. Human beings have never changed. They are still sinners and they will sin. If there are corruption in Sodom and Gomorrha, there is still corruption in this world (even though you may not see it). There were prostitutes in Sodom and Gomorrha, there are still prostituties in your country. There were gays in Sodom and Gomorrha, there are still gays around us and in our churches too. Am I insulting you because I have likened the people of this world including you and me in the category of Sodom and Gomorrha ? No, there is no need to be defensive about our righteousness even if you think that you have believed Christ and have God's righteousness. We are all the same. We are sinners who can still sin. That's why we need grace. We can never boast that, after we have received grace, we are better than others, and that we can never lust or fall into any kind of sins. We can never boast that we can never be greedy or proud, and that we can never be condemned even if we do whatever we desire like the servant below:

Mat 18:26-35 KJV The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. (27) Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. (28) But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. .. (32) Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: (33) Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? (34) And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. (35) So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

I will tell them, If you do not want to hear about repentance, it shows that you are still the same, like the people of Sodom and Gomorrha. Do you know why God sent Jonah to preach repentance to the people of Nineveth; but not to the people of Sodom and Gomorrha ? Sodom and Gomorrha had probably rejected repentance. They hated repentance and they had probably thought that the angels and whoever preached repentance to them would bring condemnation to them.

Jesus would want us to preach the wake up call like it is an end time repentance for the people of the world
I will tell them, I do not preach repentance to condemn you. In fact, repentance is a gift from God. We preach it to save the people. Those who received the repentance message of Christ would not be like the people of Sodom and Gomorrah; instead they would repent like the people of Nineveth. However, those who rejected the gospel of Jesus Christ (which is His baptism of repentance through the Spirit) would be condemned like the people of Sodom and Gomorrha. You may think that it is not biblical to compare the people of the world to the people of Sodom and Gomorrha and you may feel that the preaching of Sodom and the need to repent is an insult to the world. That's because you think that you are still part of the world and, hence, you felt offended.You said that it would offend the people if we mention Sodom and Gomorrha; but I would think otherwise. Do you know that the Lord frequently mentioned Sodom and Gomorrha and nobody felt offended, except the Pharisees and those who are unrepentant ?

Mat 10:14-15 KJV And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. (15) Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.
Mat 11:20-24 KJV Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: (21) Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. (22) But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. (23) And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. (24) But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.
Mar 6:10-12 KJV And he said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place. (11) And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city. (12) And they went out, and preached that men should repent.
Luk 10:12-13 KJV But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city. (13) Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
Luk 17:22-30 KJV And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. (23) And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them. .. (26) And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. (27) They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. (28) Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; (29) But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. (30) Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

Preaching of the goodness of God can never replace the preaching of repentance
I will tell them, Of course, we are not against the preaching of the goodness of God.

However, if we preach the goodness of God so that we do not need to preach repentance any more, something is wrong.
It is like arguing with the people that sleeping or resting is more spiritual than working and therefore we should not work any more, or that freedom is better than control and therefore we should have no government.

They will say, "How can you lump 'freedom' together with 'no government'. Yes, there is a certain degree of freedom if we have no government, but we cannot propose no government at all in order to promote freedom. You have used the wrong analogy.."
I will tell them, Precisely. You cannot lump everything together too. If you know this, you would not preach the goodness of God to eliminate the need to preach repentance. Hence, it is not the will of the Lord for us to preach only the goodness of God without any preaching of repentance.

There are reasons why the goodness of God may not always lead to true repentance. It would never lead to repentance:

if the preaching of it is from the false prophets. False prophets hate repentance. Hence, they would never have the conviction or interest to preach repentance too. They can only preach false or casual repentance, like the Pharisees. They can only confess or even go through a process of outward or verbal repentance without any conviction of believing it or doing it. Mat 3:7-9 KJV But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? (8) Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: (9) And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

if the preaching of it is from Satan. Yes, Satan can preach the goodness of God too. But he is cunning enough to use the preaching of it to attack God's own words and commandments without us knowing it. He would tell us that he knows all the goodness of God, that God is too good to be true, that God is too gracious to condemn us, and that we can never die even if we disobey His words. Gen 2:16-17 KJV And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: (17) But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Gen 3:4 KJV And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: Yes, today Satan can still preach that same 'goodness' of God to us again, but his preaching of that goodness of God can never lead us to repentance; it would lead us to condemnation.

if the sinners or believers do not have the conviction to humble themselves and to confess their sins. Please think, Would God consider your 'repentance' as repentance if you have no conviction to admit it or confess it. Like Nicodemus who went to Jesus at night, you may just want to show Jesus that you believe in repentance too, but you are too afraid to confess it openly. Joh 3:1-3 KJV There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: (2) The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. (3) Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. However, if you argue that you are not afraid, you could be too boastful to admit your sins. In either case, just by hearing or believing in the goodness of God will not lead people to repentance. They must believe, be humble enough to admit sin, and repent. Luk 18:11-14 KJV The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. (12) I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. (13) And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. (14) I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

if the sinners or believers believe the goodness of God or the grace of God radically. They could have believed it wrongly and thought that they could never be condemned even if they do whatever they want like the servant in the following Bible example: Mat 18:27-28 KJV Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. (28) But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.

Hence, if we want to preach the goodness of God to the people, what's wrong if we would also preach repentance or the baptism of repentance to them too ?

Jesus said, You must teach all
They will still argue, "Yes, Jesus can preach about Sodom and Gomorrha. That's because He is God. But do we need to preach it as though the world will be judged as Sodom and Gomorrha. If you preach like this, you are not preaching the gospel; you are preaching condemnation. The people of the world will not repent. They are quite fragile in their thinking. Hence, you should just tell them to change their minds, not to repent or to turn from God's wrath. Do you know why Moses did not enter the promised land? It was because he condemned the people by striking the rock which gave them the water. He did not know how to present a gracious God to the people. He did not use positive words. Today, the people of the world will not want to hear about warnings, commandments, judgement, condemnation of sins, deception of false prophets, the punishment of the rich in Hell (Luk 16:20-31), or Sodom and Gomorrha. They do not want to hear about the negative reports. Can you think of more positive Bible verses for the people of the end time instead ?"
I will tell them, No. If Jesus has preached about all the warnings and negative Bible verses to His disciples and the people, He would want us to teach all that He has preached to us too. He has commanded us in:
Mat 28:19-20 KJV Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: (20) Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.. However, if you think that all His warnings, commandments, judgement, and all His preaching of Sodom and Gomorrha are too negative for the people today, can you tell the Lord yourselves?
Would you say, "Lord, you should not use the example of Sodom and Gomorrha in your preaching of repentance. It would bring fear and condemnation to the people. They would feel too condemned to repent. You should not tell your disciples to preach repentance in Luk 24:45-47 KJV Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, .. (47) And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. Instead, you should just open their eyes and give clear commandment for them to listen to Paul who would preach grace only .."
I will tell them, No, How can you advise the Lord what to preach ? Even Paul would still preach what Jesus preached. Paul would still preach repentance. Paul said in Act 26:19-20 KJV Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: (20) But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance. Even Paul would still preach the gospel that Jesus preached. That's why we don't tell the people to preach only the gospel that Paul preached; we tell the people to preach the gospel that Jesus preached. We tell the people to preach all that Jesus peached.

Please read your Bible again. I won't keep quoting all the clear Bible verses that Jesus had preached about repentance over and over again. But I will ask you to look at a few more commonly omitted Bible verses to find out if we need to preach serious repentance like it is an end time repentance for the people of the whole world:

Luk 13:1-5 KJV There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. (2) And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? (3) I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. (4) Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? (5) I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Joh 3:3-5 KJV Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (4) Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? (5) Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Joh 12:24-25 KJV Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. (25) He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

Hence, based on the Bible verses above, we must preach repentance, death to sinful life, dying to self, taking up our cross, or turning away from sins. Why? It's because Jesus said: All must repent; otherwise ye shall all perish.

Jesus said, All must repent
Is the Bible passages above for us all or for all the sinners? You bet. However, radical grace preachers would argue, "No, did you read it carefully? It is not for us or all the sinners today. It was spoken to the Jews and the Pharisees at that time. It was for them because they were hypocrites. They were like the Pharisees or equally sinful like the Galilaeans who were killed. But Jesus would never preach this to us or the sinners today. We do not have to repent and we will never perish.."
I will tell them, What makes you think that Jesus would say it only to the Jews, the Pharisees, or the hypocrites only? I believe that He would say it to you or to the sinners today too. He would tell all of us, "Unless you repent, you would all likewise perish." Are you shocked to hear this from Him? Why should you ? Don't you agree that we are all sinners who MUST repent ? We may not be hypocrites like the Pharisees or the Galilaeans but we are sinners who MUST repent. I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. This is spoken by the Lord to all the sinners.

Mat 9:13 KJV But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Jesus did not call only the murderers, the thieves, the hypocrites, or the great sinners to repent; He called everyone to repent. It's because He knew that except everyone of us repent, we shall all likewise perish too. He knew that everyone of us has sinned and the wages of sin is death.

Act 17:30-33 KJV And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: (31) Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. ... (33) So Paul departed from among them.
Rom 6:22-23 KJV But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. (23) For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

So, we should have received the clear message from Jesus that He would not only want everyone of us to repent, but He would also want us to preach repentance too.

Luk 13:3,5 KJV I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."

Did Jesus preach repentance graciously to the sinners in Luk 13:3,5?
No. Many radical grace preachers would think that it is condemnation when someone would preach repentance and tell the people (sinners) to confess their sins or repent from their sins. But can we say that Jesus or any preacher is a condemnation preacher simply because he did not preach repentance graciously or graciously ask the sinners to repent ? I will ask the radical grace preachers, When Jesus preached against sin and said that those who sinned without repentance would perish, was He preaching the ministry of condemnation? Some of them will still say, "Of course ! The Bible did tell us that that ministry of condemnation had glory. But if that ministry of condemnation had glory, how much more grace and the ministry of righteousness (2Co 3:7-13) will exceed the glory of that ministry of condemnation or repentance.. Hence, the ministry of repentance which point people to sin is the ministry of condemnation. Jesus had to preach it before His death. But after His death, there is no more ministry of repentance or condemnation. He would now want us to preach grace and the ministry of righteousness. He would now preach grace for He is grace. He wants us to preach grace or repentance 'graciously'. He would never tell the people that they will perish or die if they don't repent .." (listen to this also from one of them who thinks that preaching of repentance strongly is equivalent to preaching the ministry of condemnation from this video interview from Houston).
I will tell them, Firstly, I don't know how you could relate the ministry of repentance or preaching of repentance to the ministry of condemnation based on 2Co 3:7-13 and Heb 8:6. Obviously it has been totally quoted out of its Bible context and applied wrongly to the ministry of repentance. No, the baptism of repentance and preaching of repentance can never be the ministry of condemnation or death. Preaching of repentance strongly is the ministry of Jesus and it should lead to grace and forgiveness of sin for every sinners who truly repented. But the ministry of condemnation in 2Co 3:7-13 and Heb 8:6 refers to the old Jewish law, circumcision law, obsolete law, or the 'Corban' law (Mk 7:11) which the Pharisees had deceitfully and successfully used to prevent the people from doing the Lord's baptism of repentance and from keeping the law and commandments of God.

Mat 3:8-10 KJV Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: (9) And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. (10) And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Mat 15:5-9 KJV But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; (6) And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. (7) Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, (8) This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. (9) But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Mar 7:11-13 KJV But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. (12) And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; (13) Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

Hence, if Jesus were still around today, He would still preach repentance strongly to the sinners, preachers, pastors, churches, or false prophets. Can we say that He is preaching the ministry of condemnation when He is judging some of us and says,

"I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."

Secondly, I don't know how Jesus would teach us to preach grace or repentance 'graciously'. But I do know that He would never tell us to stop preaching repentance.

Luk 24:45-48 KJV Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, (46) And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: (47) And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (48) And ye are witnesses of these things.

I will tell them, I still do not know how you could learn from Jesus on how to preach repentance 'graciously' without making the sinners feeling the conviction of sin or condemnation. Perhaps, I need to learn from you instead of learning from Jesus or from my Bible ? However, if I had really learnt how to preach like you, I would never have the conviction to preach true repentance and I would lose my own repentance and my salvation too. Yes, I know that it may sound quite condemning if we have to preach repentance and tell the sinners, "Nay: except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish". However, it would not help them also, if we have to change the word of the Lord by saying, "Nay, except ye believe, ye shall all likewise perish.." Of course, 'to repent' is not the same as 'to believe'. Jesus would not ask the sinners to believe only; He wants the sinners to:

repent (and turn from their sin)
be His disciples
take up their own cross
study God's words (like the wise virgins or churches - Matt 25),
do good to their neighbours (like the sheep or the faithful believers - Matt 25), and
keep God's commandments (like the good stewards or faithful preachers - Matt 25)

Can we tell the sinners to believe only?
Many radical grace preachers will argue, "No, to repent is not to turn from our sins; it is to believe only. If we have to obey such a long do's and don'ts, we would be going back to the law, to the ten commandments, to the law of stones, .. No, all these are demands. Law demands but grace supplies. But Jesus would never demand from us or become a demand to us. He said clearly that He would become poor so that we are rich. Hence, He is our supply. He will never demand.. "
I will ask them, How can Jesus tell you that He would never demand from you? I don't think Jesus would make such a promise. Please think, If He would command you to keep God's commandments, He would have shown you that there would be demands from Him too. I will not want to argue with you on 'To obey or not to obey'; I will argue with you if you said that "to repent is just to believe or to change your minds without turning from sin". Can you show us which Bible verses show us that Jesus said that to repent is to believe only?
They will say, "Jesus would never say, "Nay, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.." to any of us or the sinners. Why? We have the Bible verses to support it. Jesus has changed it to "except ye believe, ye shall all likewise perish in John 3:16:

Joh 3:14-19 KJV And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: (15) That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. (16) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (17) For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (18) He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (19) And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

I will tell them, Your interpretation may sound very convincing to most of the unrepentant sinners. However, we know that you are deliberately changing the word of God and the repentance teaching of the Lord. Jesus have told us that we must repent AND believe in Him to have eternal life (otherwise we will all likewise perish).

Mar 1:13-15 KJV And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him. (14) Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, (15) And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Jesus would preach repentance with turning away from sins
Radical grace preachers will still argue, "Of course, I know that you would bring out the above Bible passage. Many years ago I had already explained it. 'Repent ye, and believe the gospel' in the above Bible passage is actually referring to 'Believe in Jesus, and believe the gospel'. There is no mention of sin or turning away from sin wherever Jesus talked to the sinners.. Jesus would only want the sinners to metanoia, change their minds, and believe in Him only..according to John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. "
I will ask them, Are you sure this is what Jesus told you about His gospel? Did He say that all the sinners will just need to believe in Him (without the need to repent)? You are lying or deliberately changing the words and the teaching of the Lord. Do you know that Jesus wants all the sinners to repent AND turn away from their sins? As God's preachers, you should have understood the clear repentance preaching of the Lord to the sinners when you read your Bible, unless you are totally blind:

Joh 5:14 KJV Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.
Joh 8:11-13 KJV She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. (12) Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. (13) The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true.
Jon 3:4-10 KJV And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. (5) So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. .. (10) And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not. ... Mat 12:39-42 KJV But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: .. (41) The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.. (Jesus said that the people of Nineveh repented not because they believed only; but because they did more than that. They did much effort to turn from their evil way. The unrepentant generation today will ask for some other sign too, but Jesus will still tell them that there is no other sign, except the same sign for them: To Repent and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ through His resurrection)

Obviously Jesus had preached repentance and He wanted all the sinners to sin no more or to turn away from their sins and lawlessness.

Repentance will lead us to turn from lawlessness in life too
Many radical grace preachers are insisting that God has forgiven all their lawlessness by quoting the following Bible verses (even though we know that they are still preaching evasive lawlessness under the disguise of radical grace):

Heb 8:10-12 LITV Because this is the covenant which I will covenant with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord, giving My Laws into their mind, and I will write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people." .. (12) For I will be merciful to their unrighteousnesses, and I will not at all remember their sins and their lawless deeds."

I will tell them, It is good that you have finally admitted sins and lawless deeds. However, do you know what does it mean when God has forgiven all your sins and lawless deeds? It simply means that, before God forgave all your sins and lawless deeds, you must have done some lawless deeds too. However, if you have never divorced your wives, never lied, or never harmed anybody, why would God tell you that you have sins and lawless deeds? Obviously, lawless deeds are not limited to criminal acts or transgression against the law of the countries. Hence, it is simply any transgression in our thoughts, words, deeds, or life, against God's laws, God's words, or commands (like the transgression of Adam and Eve against God's word and command in the garden of Eden):

1Jn 3:3-4 LITV And everyone having this hope on Him purifies himself even as that One is pure. (4) Everyone practicing sin also practices lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.
Gen 2:16-17 KJV And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: (17) But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Gen 3:4-5 KJV And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: (5) For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

I will tell them, Now, if God has forgiven all your sins and lawless deeds through grace, God must have restored His law in your heart, soul, and spirit too. Hence, through grace, God would have put His law in your heart and mind too. This is possible only if you admit that being lawless in your thoughts, words, and life is wrong and sinful deed against Him. However, I am quite doubtful about it when you keep arguing that 'the absence of any law is grace', 'pure grace has no law', or 'law demands grace supplies'. Obviously your radical grace arguments against the law of God contradict against yourselves and the word of God. You may later preach many beautiful laws, commands, moral values, doing good, proverbs, and even singing hymns and psalms, to try to hide your lawlessness, but it would only show that your doctrine has all become your vain doctrine and you become a 'ding dong bell' preacher.

God forgives through grace, but we receive His forgiveness through repentance
Have you just read the words highlighted above?

Yes, I was thinking about it too. Yes, God would forgive all sinners their sins and lawless deeds through grace. But it does not mean that all sinners will be forgiven automatically. It is because all sinners must confess their sins and lawless deeds to God. They will be forgiven only if they repent.
It means that God and man would both do their parts in the New Covenant. They are like the partners in a contract. Yes, God has done His part through Christ. He has forgiven us through His grace and blood, but have we receive His forgiveness through our repentance ?

Only the sinners who are repentance conscious will receive grace
Therefore, it is important to preach repentance instead of grace. If we have repentance, we will have grace. If you read the Bible, you will discover that all the sinners are repentance conscious when they came to Jesus. They were grace conscious only after Jesus confirmed it with His words. How do I know that ? If they would feel radically grace conscious first or confident of the Lord's forgiveness of all their sins, they would not show the strong feeling of remorse, unworthiness, surprise of the Lord's goodness, or great gratitude:

Luk 18:13-14 KJV And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. (14) I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
Luk 7:37-38 KJV And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, (38) And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment... (44) And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, .. (47) Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. (48) And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.

Obviously both sinners above were not grace conscious when they first came to God or Jesus; they were repentance conscious because they were great sinners. They were probably surprised by the grace of God when they first heard that Jesus said that their sins were forgiven.

The sinners who are grace conscious may still fall from grace
On the other hand, there was another man who was probably favour conscious or radically grace conscious. He was so conscious of God's favour that he thought he could never fall from 'grace'. As a result, he was so confident of the grace or the favour of the Lord that he tried to do anything he liked:

Mat 18:27-34 KJV Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. (28) But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. .. (32) Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: (33) Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? (34) And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.

Today there are still many preachers and servants who are so confident of that grace and favour that they would preach anything or do anything they liked. They think that, since they have received the grace of God and prospered, they can never fall from that 'radical grace' even if they become lawless, boast against others, and change the gospel. They think that by preaching it radically, it would become great assurance to themselves and others. However, they have missed the whole point.

The gospel of grace from the Lord is not given to those who are grace conscious; it is given to those who are repentance conscious. Sadly, many sinners, or even believers, today would not think of repentance when they sin; instead, they expect grace and demand immediately. They are conscious of grace without showing any sense of repentance. Yes, they may insist that they have 'metanoia' or change of mind, but they have not truly repented.
Yes, I agree that 'metanoia' can be interpreted as 'change of mind'. But it is a change of mind for the sinners or anyone who sins, not change of mind for the politicians or anyone who changes his plans. Hence, 'to repent and believe' means (for the sinners) to turn away from their sins or to sin no more, and believe; it is not just to change your mind and believe.

Mar 1:15 KJV And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Luk 13:4-5 KJV Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? (5) I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

Joh 8:11 KJV She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

Yes, you may argue that you will never need to repent like the Jews, like the Pharisees, or like the hypocrites because you are more righteous than them. You may think that you would just need to 'change your mind' (like a good man) and believe. However, the Lord would still say the same thing to you:

Luk 13:4-5 KJV .. (5) I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent (from your sins), ye shall all likewise perish.

Mat 9:13 KJV But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

I remember what the radical grace preachers have said earlier when they compared the glory of their ministry against the glory of the ministry of repentance. They have falsely accused the strong preaching of repentance from the Lord and us as 'the ministry of condemnation' by misquoting from Bible. But, I will now use what they had said to show them how they have reasoned wrongly. I will tell them, "Yes, the Bible did tell us that that thinking of grace or grace consciousness had glory and would lead that servant in the parable to receive God's favour. But if that thinking of grace had glory and would lead that servant to God's grace for a moment, how much more our thinking of repentance or true repentance consciousness will lead us to God's grace forever?"

We would not fall like that servant in the parable if we are always repentance conscious.

The sinners will truly repent only when they know why they need to repent
If the sinners know why they need to repent, they would know how much they have sinned against God and feel remorseful about what they have done. Otherwise, it is not repentance. It could be 'hollow' repentance. It has no fruit of repentance.
They will argue, "Jesus preached the Old covenant repentance. That was because He preached only to the Jews. His teaching to them was before His death. The Jews who repented must beat their chest and mourned for their sins, like the publican in Luke 18:13-14. However, we are now under the New covenant. We must preach the New covenant repentance. Hence, we would just believe, metanoia, change our minds, and think more of grace. If we repent like the publican or criminals, we would feel very condemned.. This is not what God wants us to feel. God wants us to feel righteous even when we truly repent.."
I will tell them, Who told you that repentance can be divided into the Old Testament repentance and New Testament repentance? If this is true, you should believe that grace can be divided into the Old Testament grace and New Testament grace too. Do you know that preaching of God's favour and prosperity without Christ's teaching of repentance is preaching of the Old Testament favour ?
Please do not complicate the teaching of the Lord on repentance. Please think, do we say sorry (or apologize) to people differently before Christ and after Christ ? Yes, we may do it differently at different times, with different customs or traditions, but there is one thing which we must not change - sincerity and regrets (remorse feelings). It would be an insult to the offended parties if we would compensate them adequately, but deliberately missing out the sincere apologies, by saying, "Haha, look, I have brought you to the finest restaurant. I have done all the requirement and compensation. In fact, what I have done exceeded far above what is required. It is an overpayment ! It has compensated whatever offence I may commit against you in the future. Hence, I have done enough repentance. I have apologized. I can no longer be condemned. Please don't make me feel bad. I did no wrong. Stop accusing me.. Otherwise, you are the accuser like the devil .. For your info, God has forgiven me.. Haha .." - this is not a true apology ! Yes, there is 'repentance' (or just an outward show of apology) but there is no true feeling of repentance or fruit of repentance. Please think, If we will never accept this kind of apology from those who have offended us, will God accept it? No, it is an insult to God too if they would come with this kind of attitude.

The sinners have truly repented only if they are willing to confess their sins
Have we heard how Jesus preached repentance or commanded the sinners to repent ?

Luk 13:1-5 KJV .. (2) And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? (3) I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. (4) Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? (5) I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Mat 9:13 KJV But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Luk 11:1-4 KJV .. (2) And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. (3) Give us day by day our daily bread. (4) And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
Act 17:30-33 KJV And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: (31) Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. ... (33) So Paul departed from among them.
Rom 6:22-23 KJV But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. (23) For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Hence, based on the Bible verses above, we know that Jesus would call, preach, and command all the sinners including His disciples to confess their sins and repent, or else they shall all perish. That's why even Paul would confess that he was a sinner and he had sinned in 1 Ti 1:12-15. Please think, If Paul (1 Ti 1:15), John (1 John 1:9), and all the disciples would pray or confess that they were sinners after they were saved, what's wrong if we, the believers or sinners, would confess and repent of our sins too. Radical grace preachers will argue, "Haha, yes, amen, amen. That's why we have repented and we have preached repentance even though we don't tell people to repent. We would just need to confess that we are sinners like Paul .. However, like Paul we have been misunderstood and persecuted by the 'Pharisees' who would always tell people to repent .." I will tell them, No, you did not preach repentance. You have only preached mind changing philosophy. Admitting that you are a sinner or that you have sinned is only part of repentance. Do you know that the Pharisees in Mat 3:7-11 and many people would just want to confess that they believe in metanoia or mind changing philosophy only, but they have no intention to truly repent or to turn from their sinful lives ? That's why Jesus and John the Baptist would not just ask the sinners to change their minds only or have good opinion of God only; but they asked the sinners to repent,

to confess their sins,
to admit that they have sins,
to sin no more, and
to turn from their sins to God

Of course, Jesus and John the Baptist would never preach repentance or the baptism of repentance as just philosophy of changing their mind only or give them the impression that repentance is just changing their minds ! But they would show them that they were sinners who need to confess their sins (admit their sins) and turn from their sins:

Mar 1:4-5 KJV John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. (5) And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins.
Mat 3:6-11 KJV And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. (7) But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? (8) Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: (9) And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. (10) And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. (11) I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

John the Baptist said that the Messiah, Jesus Christ, would come and baptize us with the Holy Spirit unto repentance. Hence, it would be a more radical repentance (which is more repentance conscious by the Holy Spirit). Who can say that the New Testament repentance is just to believe, change your mind, or think of grace only ?

The Pharisees did not know true repentance. They hated the repentance teaching of Jesus and John the Baptist because they felt insecure when the repentance teaching exposed their lustful desires, licentious living, lawlessness, and hypocrisy. They were too self-righteous to confess and admit their sins. Hence, they could only preach the Old Testament favour and prosperity, and confuse the people that what they did was repentance that John the Baptist preached. But John exposed it as false repentance (Mat 3:8).
Today, many false prophets do not know true repentance too. They hated the repentance teaching of the Lord. They are too self-righteous to confess and admit their sins. Hence, they could only preach New Testament favour and prosperity and confuse the people with what they preached as grace and repentance too.

How the Pharisees and the false prophets would preach could be different, but they all shared one thing in common: i.e. they do not like to hear or preach repentance. It would expose themselves as hypocritical individuals in their inner selves. They would feel insecure and condemned because they have not truly repented from their old ways. They have not hated themselves, turned from old ways, and felt remorseful for who they are.

Preaching of repentance from sin will bring condemnation and insecurity? This is a lie
They will argue, "Ok, you are right. We have not really preached repentance. We preach a very different repentance from what you preach. So what? The people today will not repent if you tell them to repent from their sins. They will sin some more. They are rebellious. But if we tell them that God loves you, they will turn to God. They must know that God accepts them. They must feel secure. When they feel secure, they will not live a life of licentiousness. They will live righteously. On the other hand the preaching of repentance and sins will bring insecurity and condemnation. It will drive them to sin more. When they know that they can never be forgiven, they will live like the devil.."
I will tell them, This is only what you think. God did not say it. Have you read the Old Testament? If we could find the people of Nineveh repented without much questioning when Jonah preached repentance from sins to them, we don't see any reason why the people today would find it hard to repent from their sins. Don't create the excuse for the sinners. Repentance has become difficult only you have created that false impression and wrong doctrine to convince that they cannot repent and confess their sins.

If you still cannot understand or remember everything here, just remember:

Jesus did not preach radical grace or prosperity, He preached repentance ! And He wants us to preach it as the gospel too !

Of course, we are not bothered if the worldly Gentiles or people outside the churches could preach marvellously on their money, riches, prosperity, miracles, divine health, or goodness of God. However, if they preach prosperity and the goodness of God to argue vehemently that it is no longer necessary for God's preachers to preach the Lord's repentance, baptism of repentance, or dying to self, or that God's preachers who preach repentance and condemnation of sins are condemning preachers, something is wrong with their 'no condemnation' doctrine. They could be false preachers who do not know Christ or who have rejected Christ.

^{Can we change the gospel of Christ just because we think that we could preach it better ?}
They will say, "What's the difference if we preach grace or preach repentance? If we preach grace, grace will still lead the people to repentance too. In fact, I would think that we would preach better than Jesus and John the Baptist who preached repentance or the Old Testament way of getting the sinners to repent and confess their sins. Please think, If we can preach better with grace, don't you Jesus would have the generous heart to encourage us to preach it. He would never condemn us because we have improved on the preaching of His gospel by preaching radical grace, favour, supernatural cancellation of debts, and divine transfer of wealth. Do you know that we are the fans of great movie star, Bruce Lee? He became famous and brought glory to his kung fu by creating new kung fu patterns. His kung fu master, Yip Man, did not become jealous of him. Instead, his master was glorified because of his new kung fu patterns and new success.."
I will tell them, Yes, Bruce Lee was a great kung fu disciple who had made his kung fu master proud because he could change what he learned from his Wing Chun kung fu master, improvise it with better kung fu patterns, and made it more popular with his success. But we are not kung fu disciples who would make Jesus proud because we could also change what we learned from Him. Bruce Lee and Yip Man were both men. Yes, men and men could learn from one another. But we can never compare ourselves with Jesus because we are men but Jesus is God. We must learn everything from Jesus but Jesus will learn nothing from us. If we change what we have learned from Him, we would not make His gospel better; we would corrupt His gospel and lead others to destruction, even though we may think that we have good motives. If the Bible has given us so many warnings not to change God's words or commandments, there must be divine reasons why we must obey.
I will ask them, Do you know who was Bruce Lee ? Bruce Lee (27 November 1940 – 20 July 1973) was a martial artist, actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, and filmmaker. He had the name of dragon in his traditional Chinese name: 李小龍. The films he acted were: The Big Boss (1971) and Fist of Fury (1972); Way of the Dragon (1972), directed and written by Lee; Warner Brothers' Enter the Dragon (1973) and The Game of Death (1978). If you are a fan of Bruce Lee, there is nothing wrong. But if you are a preacher and you emulate him with his hairstyle, his philosophies, his glory, his success .. and you think that you should also excel over your master like him, something would be terribly wrong. Do you know that the beast with the number of 666 would emulate the dragon 龍 and rebel against God too ?

Rev 13:11-18 KJV And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. .. (16) And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: (17) And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. (18) Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

Hence, if we do not know the full spiritual significance of the situation, it is not adviseble to change the preaching of the Lord just because we think that it is more popular with men. We don't preach favour, prosperity, wealth, or money and deceive ourselves and others that it will lead to repentance without the preaching of repentance. In fact, the serpent preached something more noble without the preaching or promise of prosperity or riches; he talked about wisdom, no condemnation, and opening of the eyes to be like gods:

Gen 3:4-5 KJV And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: (5) For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

The Bible did not tell us that we can never sin or never need to repent
They will argue, "But the Bible are full of Bible verses that those who believe in Jesus will no longer sin because they have become the children of the light. We will all walk in the light. I did not say so; the Bible said so. If this is so, why do we still preach repentance or teach people to confess sins or to repent from their sins ?"
I will tell them, Yes, we are called the children of the light. But are we there already ? No, we are still in the world of darkness and we can still sin or fall into it. However, if we have fallen, we can still rise up because of the grace of God:

Eph 5:6-10 KJV Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. (7) Be not ye therefore partakers with them. (8) For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (9) (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) (10) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.
1Th 5:4-9 KJV But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. (5) Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. (6) Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. (7) For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. (8) But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. (9) For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
1Jn 1:7-10 KJV But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (8) If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (10) If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 1Jn 2:1 KJV My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: (I will tell the radical grace preachers, Obviously John was not writing to the agnostics here; but to the believers and sinners who would repent. John would never write to the agnostics that they should not sin. Why ? It's the agnostic would never be intersted to listen to John or read His letters. If they were agnostic, they would never believe or listen to John, or even God.)

Please think again. Why did Paul said, "Be not partakers .., Proving.., Let us not sleep.., Let us watch.., .. to obtain salvation .." ? Why did he give us these warnings which suggest that the believers could still fall ? It is because he knew that believers who are purchased by the blood of Christ can still fall. He knew that the believers may not obtain salvation if they sleep, walk as the 'drunken', walk as in the darkness, become partakers with the rebellious, ... and sin like the people of the world. Hence, if we tell the believers that they can never fall, never sin, and never need to confess their sins, we are sleeping ourselves. How can we preach the gospel of light to the sinners and teach our believers:

Act 20:27-32 KJV For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. (28) Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. (29) For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. (30) Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. (31) Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears. (32) And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.(Please think, If believers can never fall, do you think it was necessary for Paul to warn the believers and pray for them with tears day and night ? Of course, it would not make sense for Paul and us to preach that the believers can never sin, never fall, or never abuse the grace of God too.)

Do we just preach why people should be under grace without preaching of repentance?
They will argue again, "Under law, we cannot ... but under grace, we can ...; Under law, we are not ..., but under grace, we are... Hence, we must come to God under grace.. the more we come, the more we are forgiven. Hence, the more you come, the more you will live, the more you will shine, the more you will .."
I will tell them, Yes, you may have argued and preached all the right doctrines for 'under law, we cannot... but under grace, we can do this and that ..' and quote all the right Bible verses, but what's the use if you have deliberately omitted the most important fundamental truth from your preaching ie. repentance ? Do you know that 'the more you come, the more you are forgiven' can never happen unless you repent ? Yes, you may preach beautifully and make great comparison between law and grace, but what's the use if all your sinners who think that they are 'under grace' do not hear the preaching of repentance or know the importance of repentance. Yes, you may argue that they will repent automatically, but that's your presumption when you have no conviction to preach any repentance. Jesus has commanded us to preach repentance. Hence, it is not an Old Testament concept; repentance is a gift to the sinners for the remission of their sins. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Luk 24:45-47 KJV Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, .. (47) And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
Act 2:38-39 KJV Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (39) For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off (and to all of us in the future who will repent), even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

I will tell them, Secondly, your repetitive comparison between law and grace, eg. 'under law, we are ... this and this, and under grace, we are that and that ...', is terribly argumentative, yet it does not show the sinners what law will bring the curses of the law or why they should be bothered by it ? Of course, most sinners would not be bothered by what law or which law you are talking about because they do not know God or God's laws, neither do they have any covenant with God. Hence, they can never be under the law, God's laws, or God's covenant. Instead, all the Gentiles and sinners are under lawlessness (or sin) after the fall of Adam and Eve, and they cannot know God now:

1Jn 3:4 LITV Everyone practicing sin also practices lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.

We need to preach repentance because most people are under lawlessness; not under the law
They will argue, "How about the legalistic believers who believe in the law ? Many of them still believe in 'do good get good'. Don't you think that they are under the law ?"
I will tell them, This is ridiculous. Just because they believe in living godly lives or doing good, they can be under the law ? Paul believed in doing good and living godly lives too; was he under the law ? No. In fact, Paul did not just believe in doing good, he taught us to obey God and do good too.

Eph 6:1-3 KJV Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. (2) Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) (3) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
1Ti 6:14-19 KJV That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: .. (17) Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; (18) That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; (19) Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
Tit 2:7 KJV In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, .. (14) Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. (15) These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.

Hence, if Paul did good and taught people to do good while they were under grace in most of his teaching in the New Testament, we can certainly do good and teach others to do good too. So, please do not accuse any believers or churches who do good as the people under the law.

Yes, Paul and many traditional believers may be still under God's law or commandment to worship God, honour their parents, and do good; but
they would never be under 'the law' (or the Old covenant) to do the works of the law, eg the works of the ceremonial law, the circumcision, the animal sacrifice, the temple rituals, .. etc.

I will ask the radical grace preachers, Now we know that the sinners can never be under the law, the believers who are under God's commandment to do good can never be under the law of the Old Covenant too; are there still anyone who are under the law ? I am afraid there is no other people except the Jews and the Pharisees who received the Old Covenant. However, if this is the case, why do you keep preaching repetitive and argumentative comparison between law and grace to the sinners and believers ? Are you still accusing the believers who do good and teach doing good as being under the law ?

We need to preach repentance because we still have sin conscience to repent
However, they will still argue, "Of course, we can accuse the believers for teaching and preaching self-effort which is not grace. Of course, if they do so, they are under the law. If we are now under grace, why do we still preach repentance to do good and to do many things? Jesus has done everything for us so that we don't have to keep any commandment or do anything for our salvation. He said, "It is finished". If we still preach repentance, keeping of God's commandments, and doing good, we would preach condemnation to the people. Please think, If the sinners or believers cannot repent, keep God's commandments, or do good, wouldn't they feel condemned and doubt about their salvation ? Hence, we don't have to preach about all these negative things again and again which tell people to do, do, do. They are condemnation. They are self-effort. They will only bring sin conscience. But as the children of God, we are called to righteousness of God. We should not have any sin conscience because God has forgiven us all sins which include all our past, present, and future sins. Hence, we don't have any more sin conscience (Heb 10:2). Do we still need repentance or confession of sins ? No. Don't let anyone rob you of your righteousness by preaching any condemnation to you."
I will tell them, Since you quoted from the book of Hebrews, we shall look at the whole chapter of Hebrews 10:

Heb 10:1-18 KJV For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. (2) For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. (3) But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. (4) For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. (5) Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: (6) In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure .... (18) Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.

Yes, God did say that He had no more pleasure in those burnt offerings and sacrifices; but He did not say that He had no more pleasure on your repentance. It is ridiculous to use this chapter to preach against repentance and conclude that repentance was under the law like the burnt offerings and sacrifices of the Jews.
You said that you have no more conscience of sins based on the Bible verse in Heb 10:2. But I will ask you to read it again. It did not tell you that you have no more sin conscience to repent; it said that you have no more sin conscience to offer sacrifice for your sins or no more need to offer any sacrifice. You have to read it with (v5) and (v18) too. Obviously you have quoted Heb 10:2 out of its context when you concluded that you have no more sin conscience to repent or that you have no more need to confess your sins.

Heb 10:26-29 KJV For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, (27) But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. (28) He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: (29) Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? (30) For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. (I will talk about Heb 10:26 again in more detailed later. But can we twist it and argue that this warning is not for God's people? No, it says very clearly that God will judge His people; not other people. When He used the comparison of a sorer punishment, He confirmed again that He was comparing and warning two of His people - one who despised Moses' law under the Old Covenant, and another who will dishonour the Spirit of grace under the New Covenant. Please think, who were able to despised Moses' law? Of course, nobody except the Jews or God's people who were given the law? Similarly, who can dishonour the Spirit of grace? Of course, no one, except God's people who have been given the grace of God too?)

Can a believer still sin or fall ?
In the Bible verses above (Heb 10:26-29), God confirmed that He has no pleasure in the offering of the people who sin wilfully, whether they sin as the 'sinners' or 'believers'. Paul made it clear by saying that God had no pleasure if we sin as the 'sinners' or 'believers' too. However, many radical grace preacher would argue that the Bible verses above are not for us. I will tell them, Something is obviously wrong with the way you quote Bible verses now. Do you remember that you have just argued that the believers should read Heb 10:2 and know that they should have no more sin conscience to repent ? But are you telling them that they should not read Heb 10:26 now ? Do you think that all the readers are so dump that they need you to tell them which verse is for them and which verse is not for them ? This is ridiculous. I will ask you now, Do you think that the next Bible verses in the same chapter are for the Jews, the Gentiles, the sinners, the believers, or you ?

Heb 10:16-17 KJV This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; (17) And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
Heb 10:23-24 KJV Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) (24) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

I am not surprised that some preachers, who do not like repentance, commandments, or doing good, would still argue that repentance and God's commandments are not for them. They will say, "Believers would never need to repent or ask for forgiveness of their sins because God has forgiven all their sins, past, present, and future. All their mistakes, crimes, adulteries, greediness, or whatever sins they have committed or will commit are no more considered as sins in the eyes of God because of the blood of Jesus. The believers can only have one type of sin: ie. the sin of unbelief or the sin of rejecting the grace of God .."
I will tell them, If all your people think that adulteries, lying, stealing, cheating, killing, .. etc are not sins because you all think that you are believers, something is wrong. I am sure the false preachers, the greedy preachers, or the adulterous preachers would also say, "We have only one type of sin too: ie. the sin of not confessing Jesus as Lord too. However, if we confess Jesus as Lord, who can condemn us ?.."
I will tell them, the word of the Lord can condemn us if we do not hear His words and doeth them:

Mat 7:12-23 KJV Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. (13) Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: (14) Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it (15) Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. (16) Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? .. (20) Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. (21) Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. (22) Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? (23) And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (24) Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: (25) And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. (26) And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: (27) And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. (28) And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: (29) For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
Luk 6:46-48 KJV And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? (47) Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: (48) He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood (false doctrine) arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. (Hence, Jesus said clearly that He would not just want us to have right believing, right faith, right miracles, right preaching, or right confession only; he wants us to have right doing with His words too, because right doing would prove that we are His true disciples on the rock of salvation.)

Many preachers and believers will be lost and become false preachers because they think that the 'lawless' false teaching is attractive. They will argue that this can never happen to them or that radical grace without any repentance can never be rejected by God. However, the Lord will give them the following parable to show them that it can happen to them even though they may have received grace:

Mat 18:23-34 KJV Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. .. .. (32) Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: (33) Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? (34) And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him

a. justification by faith or by grace is only the beginning of a believer's forgiven life so that he can do more with the words and commandments of God in his life. The grace for cancellation of debts or forgiveness of debts is not given so that we can have more future debts or more future lawlessness. It is certainly not an excuse or license to have more future sins with no more repentance (or to sin wilfully).

Luk 13:2-10 KJV And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? (3) I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. (4) Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? (5) I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. (6) He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. (7) Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? (8) And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: (9) And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down. (10) And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath.

b. Grace is not forever - it is given for the purpose of repentance, turning back to God's commandments, keeping God's laws, and doing His words. Grace is not given for the purpose of enjoying or living in lawlessness forever. Grace is not there forever if we are forever lawless in our hearts or minds. However, if we repent, keep the commandments of God, and live with the laws of God in our hearts and minds, God will remember all our lawlessness no more and He will be our God forever:

Heb 10:16-17 LITV "This is the covenant which I will covenant to them after those days, says the Lord: Giving My Laws on their hearts, and I will write them on their minds;" (17) also He adds, "I will not at all still remember their sins" and their lawlessnesses. ..

Heb 8:10 LITV Because this is the covenant which I will covenant with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord, giving My Laws into their mind, and I will write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people."

Luk 19:8-10 LITV But standing, Zaccheus said to the Lord, Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I give to the poor. And if in anything I accused anyone falsely, I restore it fourfold. (9) And Jesus said to him, Today salvation has come to this house, for he also is a son of Abraham. (10) For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the one being lost.

Hence, the cancellation of debt or forgiveness of debt is not given so that a believer can have more future debt or lawlessness forever. It is certainly not an excuse or license to have more future sin or lawlessness without any repentance. However, many preachers have deceived the believers into thinking that they can literally expect forgiveness of all their future sins, and even supernatural cancellation of all their future financial debts, if they will just radically believe or do and teach their 'holy communion's blood cleansing' ritual, 'pure grace' confession, 'supernatural' favour, 'mind changing' philosophy, or 'false repentance' to disregard and to 'repent' from all the laws and commandments of God. I did write about some preachers who have managed to quote the Bible out of context and capitalise on this 'supernatural' deception or 'cancellation of debts' to transfer effortless wealth to themselves. (see "Supernatural cancellation of debts - Is it really a supernatural transfer of wealth, a religious gimmick, or just a vain religious boasting?" in my previous post here.)

we are justified not by faith only; but by the works of faith too (Jas 2:24, Mat 7:16)
Many will argue and say, "We did do His words and sayings. We believe in His name. We prophesy in His name, we did cast out devils in His name, and we did many wonderful works in His name too. Weren't these enough ? If we believe, we would have done His words too !"
I will tell them, If believing only is doing His word, Jesus would have said so. He would have said in (v24), "Therefore whosoever heareth sayings of mine, and believe Me, I will accept him." But why did He say that we must do His words in many Bible verses ? Obviously the Lord did not want us to hear and believe only. He did not want us to believe like the Pharisees or the devils.

Luk 8:11-15 KJV Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. (12) Those by the way side are they that hear; .. (13) They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, .. (14) And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, .. (15) But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience ... (18) Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.
Mat 7:15-29 KJV Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. (16) Ye shall know them by their fruits ... (20) Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. (21) Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven .. (24) Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
Luk 6:46-48 KJV And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? (47) Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: (48) He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood (false doctrine) arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. (Hence, Jesus said clearly that He would not just want us to have right believing, right faith, right miracles, right preaching, or right confession only; he wants us to have right doing with His words too, because right doing would prove that we are His true disciples on the rock of salvation.)
Jas 2:19-24 KJV Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. (20) But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? (21) Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? (22) Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? (23) And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. (24) Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

Many preachers have quoted from Jas 2:23 above that Abraham believed ONLY, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness; but they deliberately kept silent about believing with the fruit or the works of faith as emphasized by the Lord and James. Obviously they have quoted the Bible out of its context without much understanding of God's righteousness. Of course, we are saved by faith alone, not by the Old Jewish law, the mixture of the law (in the Old Covenant and the New Covenant), or the works of the Old Jewish law. We are save under the New Covenant.
But we are justified not by faith only under the New Covenant; but by the works of faith too (see Jas 2:24, Mat 7:16). Without works, faith under the New Covenant is dead. In another words, faith without works is not faith in Christ or the righteousness of God under the New Covenant. Without works, no one can justify his belief or faith in God (Jas 2:24), neither can any false prophets justify their confession or faith in God too (Mat 7:16-23). Hence, faith without works is dead. It is condemnation to those who believe it, keep it, confess it, practise it, or preach it (Mat 7:23, Mat 25:41).

There are still works meet for repentance and after repentance
I will ask them, Do you know why the Lord and James gave us those words in Luk 8:11-15 and Jas 2:19-24 above ? Obviously, they knew that many Jewish believers in the past, as well as Gentile believers in the future, would quote Abraham's righteousness and blessing out of their Bible context as their excuses for believing only. The Lord knew that there would be carnal believers who would believe and argue like the Pharisees, but they would also want to be baptised by the Lord without any fruits or works of repentance.

Mat 3:5-11 KJV Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, (6) And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. (7) But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? (8) Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: (9) And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. (10) And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. (11) I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
Mat 4:17 KJV From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Luk 13:3 KJV I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Joh 3:3-5 KJV Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (4) Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? (5) Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Hence, these Bible verses show clearly that the Lord and John the Baptist would only baptize us if we will believe and repent not only in our mind and body (physical and behavioural); but also in our spirit too.

Mat 5:13-17 KJV Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. (14) Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. (15) Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. (16) Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (17) Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

Why would the Lord want His disciples and us who have repented to be the salt or light ? It is because He wants us to shine and glorify His name with our good works (Tit 2:14, 1Pe 2:9, Exo 19:5); not with fruitless, vain, or hypocritical works. Hence, what's wrong if we preach the light of God or the righteousness of God with good works ? What's wrong if we preach about God's love for us, our love for Him, or our love for others, with the works of the good Samaritan or the sheep who do good to others too?

Luk 10:29-37 KJV But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? (30) And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. .. (33) But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, (34) And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. ... (36) Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? (37) And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
Mat 25:37-41 KJV Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? (38) When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? (39) Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? (40) And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. (41) Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

Do we preach the gospel of grace only ?
No, the gospel of grace without repentance is not the gospel of grace. The Lord has clearly told us to preach the gospel of grace by repentance; not the gospel of grace by changing our minds only:

Luk 24:45-48 KJV Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, (46) And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: (47) And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (48) And ye are witnesses of these things.

They will argue, "I know the Lord and James did tell us to do many works. But we are under grace. We don't preach doing any work or any repentance after that. We must look at Paul's doctrine now. Paul said, We will just do nothing. We will just 'metanoia' or believe only. We believe in the gospel of grace, and the gospel of grace will lead the sinners to repentance without us preach any repentance. It will lead people to prosperity too. Hence, if we preach the gospel of grace, we are preaching the gospel of repentance too. We have indeed fulfilled the Lord's commandment to preach repentance by preaching only grace .. I know the Lord would surely understand our preaching .."
I will tell them, You will know it when you will see the Lord soon. However, now I can tell you that your repentance is just your mind-changing philosophy without repentance. It is not the repentance that Jesus preached or Paul preached. Please read Paul letters again. Paul did not tell us to preach grace only; but he preached repentance and the works meet for repentance, including turning away from sins:

Act 20:20-32 KJV And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house, (21) Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ .. (24) .. to testify the gospel of the grace of God .. (29) For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. (30) Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. (31) Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears. (32) And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.
Act 26:19-20 KJV Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: (20) But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.
Act 26:18 KJV To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

The gospel that Paul preached is the gospel of grace by repentance and faith
Isn't it clear that Paul wanted us to preach grace and repentance because he knew that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the gospel of grace by repentance and faith (v21), not just the gospel of grace ? Paul knew that after his departure shall grievous wolves enter in among the believers, speaking perverse things against the grace of God, against faith, and against the need to do repentance and to turn away form sins (v29-30). Hence, Paul's preaching in the Bible verses above confirmed again that

grace can be abused or corrupted among the believers - Act 20:29-30 KJV For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. (30) Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Hence, how can we give the radical grace promise that no one can abuse grace or preach license to sin among the believers ?
believers can be led astray by false doctrines - Act 20:28-30 KJV Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. (29) For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock... Hence, how can we give the false promise that no believers can be led astray because they are in Christ or purchased by His blood. Please think, If the believers can never fall or be led astray by the false prophets, do you think that Paul would still need to warn us about the grievous wolves ?
radical grace (or the gospel of grace without repentance) may seem to be more effective and more successful than the simple preaching of repentance - it will attract many (v30). It will boast. It may become effortless for many. It may become lawless too when all the rich, the unrepentant, the superstitious, the 'super-spiritual', or the super-religious would come together and form their own 'club' or 'church' to justify one another for all kinds of weird, radical, unbiblical, and oxymoron doctrines too.

Was Jesus a repentance preacher or grace preacher ?
After saying all the above, am I wrong to say that Jesus, Paul, and all His disciples were repentance preachers ? Please correct me if I am wrong. However, I find that the Bible has shown us clearly that Jesus, Paul, and all His disciples were not only repentance preachers, they were radical repentance preachers to many people. They preached repentance wherever or whenever they went to a place:

Mat 4:17-20 KJV From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (18) And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. (19) And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. (20) And they straightway left their nets, and followed him. (Jesus told Peter and Andrew to follow Him after they had repented through His gospel of repentance)
Mar 1:15-17 KJV And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. (16) Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. (17) And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. (Jesus told Peter and Andrew that they should follow Him to preach repentance too, not to catch fish and make more money through His gospel of repentance)
Mar 6:7-12 KJV And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits; .. (12) And they went out, and preached that men should repent.
Luk 24:45-48 KJV Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, (46) And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: (47) And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (48) And ye are witnesses of these things.
Act 2:38-39 KJV Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (39) For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
Act 17:30 KJV And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
Act 26:19-20 KJV Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: (20) But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.

In fact Jesus, and His disciples, had preached repentance more than what we know.

He told Nicodemus to be born again. To be born again, Nicodemus had to repent
He told us about the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man was not saved because he did not repent or probably because he refused to repent when he was given the opportunity to repent: Luk 16:30-31 KJV And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. (31) And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
He told us about eternal life with the example of the death of a corn. Repentance is dying to self. Joh 12:24-25 KJV Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. (25) He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
He told the impotent man and adulterous woman to repent and sin no more: Joh 5:14 KJV Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. Joh 8:11 KJV She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
He told all His disciples (not just the Pharisees - see Mat 5:1) that no one is too righteous to repent: Mat 5:27-28 KJV Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: (28) But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
He told all His disciples that it is better to repent and suffer on earth as a beggar like Lazarus or to lose everything including your life and your eye than to lose your eternal life. Of course, it is still reasonable and relevant to show how much we need to repent. Don't be deceived by the false preachers who love their earthly life too much to repent or to do anything which would cost them dearly or stop them from prospering: Mat 5:29-30 KJV And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell..
Mar 8:34-38 KJV And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. (35) For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. (36) For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? (37) Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? (38) Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
He told all His disciples that it is better to repent and become poor, like Lazarus on earth than to enjoy life like the rich man and enter hell (Luk 16:30-31). That's why Jesus said Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Mat 6:33). That's why Zacchaeus did not mind to become poor and, in repentance, gave half of his goods to the poor and gain salvation: Luk 19:8-9 KJV And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. (9) And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. So, does it mean that Jesus wants us to be poor. No, again please don't be deceived by false preachers that the teaching of the Lord is not for us. We should interpret the teaching of the Lord correctly and tell people that Jesus wants us to repent even if it will make us poor. He wants us to repent more than anything; whether it will prosper us or make us poor.
He told all including those who think that they are righteous to repent too: Luk 13:2-9 KJV And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? (3) I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish .. (5) I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. (6) He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. (7) Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? (8) And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: (9) And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down. (The message of the Lord is very clear: God will give us the 'second chance'. He will sent 'Someone' to 'dig about it and dung it'. But if we do not repent, we will still perish).
He told us about the parable of the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost son, or the sinners who would repent and enter the kingdom of God: Luk 15:1-32 KJV Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. (2) And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. (3) And he spake this parable unto them, saying, (4) What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them .. (7) I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. (8) Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, .. (10) Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. (11) And he said, A certain man had two sons: .. (32) It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.

However, many radical grace preachers do not see repentance from the Bible verses above. They would argue, "We don't see any repentance from the lost sheep or the prodigal son. The Bible did not mention clearly that the sheep or the prodigal son had said the words, "I repent". I could not find the words which tell us that they repented. The Bible has only described how the sheep would be laid over the shoulder of the great shepherd and there would be rejoicing Luke 15:5-6. Hence, believing the Lord, allowing Him to love us or carry us on His shoulder, and rejoicing in Him is repentance because, at the end of it, the Lord would still see it as our repentance as He specifically told the disciples in (v7) that the lost sheep has actually repented without the need for it to say repentance or do repentance."
I will tell them, If you interpret that the sinners do not need to repent because you don't see any sheep repenting, you would interpret all the rest of the Bible verses without repentance. It is like telling the people to read the following Bible verses:

Mat 6:26 KJV Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

and then interpret it as:

Radical preachers: Behold the birds of the air; for they sow not, neither do they repent, nor do anything; yet your heavenly Father would take care of them. Are you not much better than they? Of course. Therefore, do you still need to repent ?

I find it ridiculous to preach this kind of logic by thinking like the animals.

Was Paul a repentance preacher or grace preacher to the Gentiles ?
Ok, now if we know that Jesus and the Apostles were all repentance preachers, can we argue vehemently that they are all grace preachers instead ? Can we argue that they are grace preachers because they always preach grace and grace lead the sinners to repentance without any preaching of repentance ? It is ridiculous to say so. The command from the Lord is so clear from the Bible: To preach repentance. Can we preach grace also ? Of course, yes. But if we preach grace to hide or remove the need for people to come to God through repentance, we are not preaching the gospel of grace or the gospel of Jesus Christ. Yes, we may argue like Paul, "Under the law, we do this .. and that .. but under grace we don't do this .. and that .."; however, we could still preached like the Pharisees in Mark 7:11 who did not have the full knowledge of God's laws. If we have never been trained like Paul as the Pharisee, we won't dare to quote the law of God to argue with the Pharisees. Paul was a well-qualified Pharisee who could preach to the Pharisees with the Under the law, we do this .. and that .. but under grace we don't do this .. and that .." argument or the 'law and grace' comparison. But when he preached to the Gentiles, he would never preach the 'law and grace' comparison to the sinners. He knew that it would confuse the people who did not have the law. Please read Acts about how he preached to the people of Athens and the king:

Act 17:22-33 KJV Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. (23) For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. (24) God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; (25) Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; (26) And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; (27) That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: (28) For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. (29) Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device. (30) And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: (31) Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. (32) And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter. (33) So Paul departed from among them.
Act 26:1-32 KJV Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for thyself. Then Paul stretched forth the hand, and answered for himself: .. (13) At midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me. (14) And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. (15) And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. (16) But rise, ... and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; (17) Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, (18) To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. (19) Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: (20) But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance. .. (24) And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad. (25) But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness. (26) For the king knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a corner. (27) King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. (28) Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. .. (32) Then said Agrippa unto Festus, This man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto Caesar.

Can we understand what Paul preached ? Yes, I believe that his message was simple enough. It was not complicated like the 'law and grace' arguments which could entertain and attract many sinners today. After reading the preaching of Paul, we should know what Paul would preach to the people according to the command of the Lord. If we still fail to understand His command to repent, something is wrong with us. We could be so unrepentant that we would just shut our mind like king Agrippa.

Can everyone be a 'grace' preacher like Paul ?
However, many of us who do not wish to be repentance preachers in obedience to Lord's command would aspire to be 'grace only' or 'pure grace' preachers, thinking that they have a higher calling by preaching only grace like Paul. Little did they realise, Paul's highest calling was still preaching repentance to the Gentiles (see Act 17:22-33 and Act 26:1-32). Most of the time, Paul did not preach grace although he did enter into very heated arguments with the Pharisees and Jewish believers in his letters to the Romans, the Galatians, and the Hebrews. I believe that he would not advise us to enter into heated arguments with the sinners on the 'law and grace' matters too. It would confuse those who do not have or know the law. We may end up preaching lawless error without full knowledge of what Paul or the Pharisees had on how the law of God really works in the Old Covenant. We may end up speaking only the negative things against God's words and commandments, blaspheme, and condemn against God's law without fully knowing the real situation of the Jews or the Pharisees.

2Pe 3:15-17 LITV And think of the long-suffering of our Lord as salvation, as also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you, according to the wisdom given to him; (16) as also in all his epistles, speaking in them concerning these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the unlearned and unsettled pervert, as also they do the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. (17) Then beloved, you knowing beforehand, watch lest being led away by the error of the lawless you fall from your own steadfastness.

I will tell the radical grace preachers, Please think, If Peter being a Jews who had the law and had been enlightened under the grace of God would admit humbly that he did not understand some of the things spoken by Paul, who are we to preach like Paul ? Yes, I know that you have received radical grace and you can do wonders, but so did Peter, James, John, and all the Lord's disciples too ? Why didn't the Lord use more of them to preach grace ? Please don't be too puffed up by your radical grace thinking. You may rub each other's back and assume that all of you can preach grace very well with your 'law and grace' comparison; however, you may end up teaching the law (and grace) in the wrong ways by giving all the wrong impressions to those who are under lawlessness instead:

1Ti 1:1-20 KJV Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope; .. (3) As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, (4) Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do. (5) Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: (6) From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; (7) Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm. (8) But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; .. (18) This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; (19) Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: (20) Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

Please don't be a 'grace' preacher who will make all the Lord's commands of none effect
Can everyone be a 'grace' preacher like Paul? If you ask me this question again, I will say, Yes, nowadays everyone can just claim to be a 'grace' preacher easily; but not so if he wants to be a true repentance preacher. It is because anyone can just confess grace, preach grace, and entertain the people with all kinds of radically good promises, and nobody will bother if they have the real grace or hear rightly.
However, if we want to preach repentance, we must know all the repentance message of the Lord and be willing to obey all His commands to bear the fruits meet for repentance or worthy of repentance and to preach it as it is according to His words.

Luk 24:45-48 KJV Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, (46) And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: (47) And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (48) And ye are witnesses of these things.
Luk 9:23-25 KJV And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. (24) For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it .. (This is what everyone would do in repentance too)

I will ask them, Please be honest, if you were still a preacher from the world, won't you think that it is more effortless to be just a 'grace' preacher than to be a repentance preacher with those commandments from the Lord ? They will argue, "Are you sure we still need to take up our cross and obey these obsolete commandments ? If you think that the above Bible verses are still for you, you ought to sell away all your goods according to His command in Mar 10:20-23 and take up your cross to follow Him too. Why don't you do it ? Hypocrite."
I will tell them, Yes, of course, Jesus did tell all of us to deny self and take up our cross to follow Him in the Gospel of Matthew (Mat 16:24), Mark (Mar 8:34), and Luke (Luk 9:23). In all these Bible verses, He said 'If any man' or 'If whosoever' will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. However, please read Mar 10:20-23 again, did He say it to 'any man', 'whosoever', or 'everyone' there? No, He said it to only one man:

Mar 10:20-23 KJV And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. (21) Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. (22) And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions. (23) And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

Hence, can we blindly or deceitfully use this Bible verse alone to nullify or make all the rest of the Lord's commands in the Gospel of Matthew (Mat 16:24), Mark (Mar 8:34), and Luke (Luk 9:23) of none effect. Now, do you know who are the real hypocrites ? They are those who make God's commandments of none effect for their own advantage, their own revolution, their own fame, their own lies, their own hypocritical repentance, their own lawless philosophies, and their own radical pursues:

Mat 3:7-8 KJV But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? (8) Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
Mar 7:11-13 KJV But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. (12) And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; (13) Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.
Mat 15:5-9 KJV But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; (6) And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. (7) Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, (8) This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. (9) But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Was Jesus a friend of the sinners because He ate with them or He preached repentance ?
They will argue, "Jesus was a friend of all the sinners. But today many of us condemn the sinners. Jesus was never harsh with the sinners who sinned. Jesus loved them all. However, Jesus would only condemn the scribes and Pharisees. Why did Jesus only called the Pharisees snakes and vipers? It's because Jesus does not hate sinners or sins; He hates those who are under the law, who wag their fingers in condemnation of others, and who are hypocrites... But many sinners felt loved after they came to our church. They felt condemned by their former churches. But we, the grace preachers are like Jesus who welcomes them. We are the friends of sinners like Jesus. But many churches and repentance preachers who condemn others in sins today have accused us for being a friend of the sinners like Jesus. We have been persecuted by the churches.. "
I will tell them, If you call this persecution just because others have disagreed with you, you are crying 'wolves'. However, if you are really a friend of the sinners because you have stopped preaching repentance, you are the blind leading the blind. Yes, Jesus was a friend of the sinners because He was a true repentance preacher - He preached repentance whenever He went and the sinners would repent. But are you a friend of the sinners because you are a repentance preacher too ? No, you could be a friend of the sinners who hate repentance because you mocked at repentance, distorted repentance, or preached anti-repentance or something else to replace repentance.
Yes, you are right to say that many sinners felt loved after coming to your church, but that was because they felt accepted in your church even if they sinned and did not repent. They could have felt condemned and dejected by their former churches because they had been asked to repent. However, they would now falsely accuse all their former churches for preaching the law and condemnation. It could be just their excuses to hide their rebellion against God's commandments, their unwillingness to repent, and their unrepentant hearts. They felt condemned not because they were under the law; but because they were under sins and unrepentant spirit.

Was Jesus harsh only with the Pharisees because they were under the law or were hypocrites?
Secondly, when Jesus was harsh with the Pharisees and ate with the sinners, it does not mean that He hated the Pharisees and loved only the sinners and publicans. No, He loves all the sinners including the Pharisees who were the sinners too. However, why was He especially harsh with the Pharisees ? Of course, it was not because they were under the law or were hypocrites. Do you know that when you point the fingers and accuse the Pharisees as hypocrites, you are accusing and are hypocritical too ? We are all hypocritical in one way or another because of our sins and lawlessness. No one can boast and accuse others without having a good look at our own sins first. We should not accuse all those who are under the law as hypocrites even though we are under grace. It's because Jesus did not accuse every Jew who were under the law as hypocrites. He did not accuse Moses as hypocrite, He did not accuse Elijah as hypocrite, He did not accuse his father or mother as hypocrite too. But why would He accuse only the Pharisees as hypocrites ? Was it because they were under the law ? No, it's because they were unrepentant and yet they would want the people to think that they had repented. The Lord and John the Baptist knew that the Pharisees would corrupt the gospel without true repentance if they were accepted. They would just teach repentance without the fruits of repentance like the way they teach God's commandments in Mark 7:11:

Mat 3:5-11 KJV Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, (6) And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. (7) But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? (8) Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: (9) And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. (10) And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. (11) I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
Mar 7:11-13 KJV But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free. (12) And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; (13) Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

Of course, Jesus would be harsh with the false preachers. However, if we are the sinners and we are as self-righteous (evasive, corrupted, or unrepentant) as the false prophets or the Pharisees, the Lord would be harsh to us too:

Mat 7:15-23 KJV Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. (16) Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? (17) Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. (18) A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. (19) Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. (20) Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. (21) Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. (22) Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? (23) And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Luk 6:46-48 KJV And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? (47) Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: (48) He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood (false doctrine) arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. (Hence, Jesus said clearly that He would not just want us to have right believing, right faith, right miracles, right preaching, or right confession only; he wants us to have right doing with His words too, because right doing would prove that we are His true disciples on the rock of salvation.)
Rev 2:5-23 KJV Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent... (16) Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. (17) He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; ...(21) And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. (22) Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. (23) And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. Rev 3:19-20 KJV As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. (20) Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Mat 11:19-24 KJV The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children. (20) Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: (21) Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. (22) But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. (23) And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. (24) But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.
Luk 13:2-5 KJV And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? (3) I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. (4) Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? (5) I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

Please read the Bible verses above again. Was Jesus harsh only to the scribes and Pharisees ? No, he was harsh to all the sinners including the Pharisees, the Jewish believers, the false prophets, and any self-righteous believers today who would corrupt or reject his message of repentance.

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Sound doctrine Vs Radical grace ?

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Wednesday, 2 January 2013

To preach repentance or not to preach repentance ?

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