Exhorting with sound doctrine or Romancing the stone ?

Exhorting with sound doctrine
Paul has warned us that there will be be many unruly and vain talkers, not only those who are of the circumcision; but also those who are crafty in smooth and vain doctrines.

• Tit 1:9-16 KJV  Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.  (10)  For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision:  (11)  Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.  (12)  One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies.  (13)  This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith;  (14)  Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.  (15)  Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.  (16)  They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
• Eph 4:14 KJV  That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

Romancing the stone (Twisting and turning God's command)

• 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 3:1-7 KJV  Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?  (2)  And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:  (3)  But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.  (4)  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.  (6)  And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.  (7)  And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. 

Satan would love to twist and turn God's law and grace
In another words, Satan has a special supernatural skill in 'romancing' the law and grace of God too.

• Please think, If Satan knew how to twist and turn the command of God and make it more pleasant to the eyes of Adam and Eve,  
• can he twist and turn the grace of God and make it more appealing to the people today too ? Oh, you bet. He could do better than what we think without anyone realising it.

In his temptation to men in both cases above, Satan knew the command of God and the grace of God. He could certainly bring out or preach the topic of God's command and grace beautifully, but he would also add in his lawless conclusion and interpretation on God's words. To Adam and Eve, he would show them how God's command without obedience will open their eyes and make them wise as gods. To the churches, he would say that God's grace without repentance will prosper them effortlessly. When he is accused of rebelling against God's words, he would always know how to argue and say, "Did I say that ? No. Has God said that you cannot do this .. and that ..? No, I tell you, This is what God said (about His law or His grace). You don't have to obey ... and you don't have to repent. You would not die. You would not be condemned by God's command.. You would have grace without repentance.. You would prosper.. You would be righteous.. You would be anointed.. You would be wise.. You would be like God.. As Christ is .., so are you .. Haha .. Heh .. heh .. you will like it .."
Preaching grace without the preaching of repentance is 'romancing the stone'. It would appeal to most worldly sinners and believers, but it is not the grace of God. If you hear any preacher who is 'romancing the stone' or preaching like this as a law preacher, repentance preacher, or grace preacher, run for your life; he is not from God, he is trained by the 'beast'. You may ask, Who is the 'beast' ? Can you disclosed his name ? I will say, Of course, I can do it if I want to. But if I mention his name, there is no more fun for him and me. He would be jobless. Ok, joke aside, All I can say is: he has the number of sixes in his title and names. That number is not the number of his company, his computer, his country, his buddies, his inner circle, his church, or any kind of hidden codes; the Bible has mentioned it very clearly and openly that it is the number of a man. It is the number of his name:

• Rev 13:17-18 KJV  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.

John could not mention his name even though he could have seen his name, clearly written under image of the beast as 'xxxxxx xxxxxx xxxxxx'. However, John could not record it for us. Why ? It's because John could not read or write English. At most, John could only count the number or show the number of the alphabets of his name.  

The beast would know how to twist and turn God's law and grace too
Many of us may think that he is a political 'Tyrant ...... ......', a medical 'Doctor ...... ......', legalistic 'lawyer ...... ......', 'Scribe ...... ......', or a mad computer 'Genius ...... ......' with the number of sixes and has the supernatural power to control our buying and selling with his banks and computers; but can we rule out the possibility that he could be a 'Pastor ...... ......' too ? While a lawless tyrant can only destroy our bodies and make us poor physically, but a lawless pastor can kill our souls and make us poor spiritually and eternally if he could control our mind, hypnotize us, and put his mark or doctrine of lawlessness into our brains:  

More about the beast: 

• Rev 13:15 KJV  And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. 

When I read the above, I found it difficult to interpret, how on earth could anybody have the power to give life unto his own image, and then he and his image could both speak? Wasn't it crazy ? Will there be monsters, beasts, or HeMan rising up in the end time, like some kind of monster movies ? VERY UNLIKELY ! No one could figure it out even after we have known that human figures and images could be projected to the wall or TV screen for the last few decades. But it has now become a common scene in many churches today where a pastor and his image can both speak, and cause many to worship God (or him - who knows ?) Very soon, we will have all our TV and LED screens in 3D images too. Hence, this could be the era when the beast could fulfil all the prophecies of Revelation 'effortlessly'. He or his cohort may not call fire to come down physically; but he could certainly call down the 'strange fire' effortlessly from heaven and shout 'Fire !' in the sight of millions through his satellite television. He may not look like the beast with much hair; but he could certainly speak like the dragon who had been wounded by the Lord's command:

• Rev 13:11-13 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.  (12)  And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.  (13)  And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,

He could certainly do more harm than we could imagine by taking away the mark of God (or the mark of God's commandments) from the believers and replace it with his mark of lawlessness. Why would a believer has the law of God in his heart and mind? It's because he would always meditate and think about God's law. Yes, we can say that he is law conscious in his mind about God's law; but he is not law conscious about the Jewish law or the law of Old Covenant. But what will happen if a believer would no longer think of God's law in his heart or mind ? He could lost the mark of God if he keeps listening to the lawless one who put his mark of lawlessness into his mind and work.

• Heb 8:10-12 KJV  For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:  (11)  And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.  (12)  For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. (Do you realise that all our lawlessness and sins are remembered no more because we have God's laws in our hearts and mind ? If we have no more law, how can our lawlessness and sins be remembered no more ? This is common sense from the reading of God's words) 
• Rev 14:11-12 KJV  And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.  (12)  Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

Hence, Satan could remove the law of God from our mind if we believe in his lawless teaching and allow him to place his lawless reasoning into our mind. Can this happen to us who are saved by the blood of Jesus Christ ? You bet, or else Paul would not need to warn the believers day and night with tears:

• Act 20:28-32 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.  (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. (Yes, Paul believed in the word of His grace and the blood of Christ which is able to save them and build them up. But Why would he still need to warn and do so much to prevent the believers from following the grievous wolves or false prophets ? Isn't it clear to everyone that the believers would still need to be warned because they could lose their salvation if they believe in the false prophets who preached perverted law and corrupted grace ?)
• Mat 18:32-34 KJV  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. (Many radical grace preachers have argued that those who are forgiven much will love much; however, it did not seem to work for this servant. Why ? It's because he only wanted to be forgiven and that was all he desired. He had no true repentance or compassion for others. Yes, he did think about forgiveness or grace, but only for himself; not for others. Hence, he was still a selfish man who did not truly repent, take up his cross, and die to his sinful self at all. The Lord has spoken: There are people who do not deserve grace even if they have prayed and asked God for forgiveness. They would expect God to forgive like the king in the parable above, with radical grace, but they would never have the desire to repent, confess, admit, or turn from their sins.)   
• Have you read the Bible ? Do you know that Satan would only tempt certain people ? He tempted Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden (Gen 3:1), he tempted Jesus in the wilderness (Mat 4:1), he will tempt the churches too (Rev 14:11-12, 2Co_11:3); however, he would never tempt the sinners? Why? He does not need to do anything because the sinners are already destined to perish. He would only tempt those who are righteous, who are without sin, who are forgiven, who have God's commandment in their mind and hearts, and would keep God's commandments. Hence, it would be a lie to say that the believers will never fall and never need to take heed to God's words and commandments when the Bible have warned us so clearly that Satan would tempt at the beginning of the Bible (Gen 3:1), in the middle of the Bible (Mat 4:1), and at the end of the Bible (Rev 14:11-12).
  

Of course, we believe in the power of the blood of Christ and eternal salvation; however, the Bible has also warned us that we should not underestimate the deceiving power of the beast too. We would lose our eternal salvation if we receive the mark of the beast. If Satan could tempt Adam and Eve who were sinless into sins, Satan could certainly tempt us into his lawlessness too, otherwise, all the warnings of the Lord and the Apostles would become lies and we would make them liars instead:

• 2Co 11:3-15 KJV  But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.  (4)  For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.  (5)  For I suppose I was not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles.  (6)  But though I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge; but we have been throughly made manifest among you in all things. .. (13)  For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.  (14)  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.  (15)  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
• 1Jn 1:8-10 KJV  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 2:3-6 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.  (4)  He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.  (5)  But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.  (6)  He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

Should we listen to the one with a sharp tongue or smooth tongue ?
I would rather listen to Him who has a short and 'sharp tongue' than the one who has a long and 'smooth tongue':

• Rev 2:12-16 KJV  And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;  .. (15)  So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.  (16)  Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
• Rev 16:13-16 KJV  And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.  (14)  For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.  (15)  Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.  (16)  And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

The 'frogs' have long curly tongues, because they loves to boast, twist, and turn with their words. They would twist and turn the law of God too. One moment they seemed to tell the people to love and obey the law of God but in another moment (probably in a same sermon), they would suddenly or subtly convince you that the law of God is infectious or contagious like sins, eg. "Under law, sin is infectious; under grace, holiness is contagious..", "law supplies; grace demands", "Under law, you must do this and that; under grace, you do nothing", "under law, you cannot prosper; under grace you would prosper effortlessly", "Under law, we feel condemned, dejected, and depressed; but under grace, we feel loved", "Under law ..;under grace .. " 

Who is under the law ?
I will ask them, Are you preaching to the Jews, the believers, or the sinners when you preach like the law or grace experts ? 

a. If you are preaching to the Jews, 
please take a good look at your own audience again before you blast off with the wrong teaching of the law. Very likely, you have preached to the wrong target audience with your bitter arguments against the law or the works of the law known and practised only by the Jews, Peter, and Paul when you are not even a Jew.

• 1Ti 1:7-8 KJV  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;
• 2Pe 3:1-18 KJV  This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:  (2)  That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:  (3)  Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts ..  (9)  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance ..  (14)  Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.  (15)  And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;  (16)  As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.  (17)  Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked (lawlessness), fall from your own stedfastness.  (18)  But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen. 

b, However, if you are preaching to the believers,
you are still speaking to the wrong crowd too. The believers should have the law of Christ to do good, not the law of the Jews to circumcise themselves. They will argue, "No, we must expose all the legalistic believers who are under the law. Yes, they may not be Jews but they have been deceived by the Pharisees to believe in the law. When they teach others to do many things, to do good get good, and to think of any law, they are under the law.."
I will ask them, The lawyers are always thinking about the laws; are they under the law? After they have received Christ, can they still think of the laws ? Of course. Many welfare organisations, including those run by the Christian organisations, would always think of doing good too; are they under the law? Of course, we don't just accuse everyone as under the law just because they think of their laws, rules, and regulations.

• Joh 1:17 KJV  For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

I am sure you have always quote from the Bible verse above, but have you ever pause and ask yourselves: Who has truly received the law given by Moses? Of course, only the Jews. You and me CAN NEVER received the law given by Moses because it was the covenant only between God and the Jews. Hence, we can never be under the law; we are under sins. We may have many laws. Some religious bodies may think that they have the law of God to do good and do many things. But those are not the law given by Moses. In the eyes of God, we are still under sins as sinners, unless we have repented in the Lord to receive grace under His New Covenant. 

c. However, if you are preaching to the sinners, 
you would certainly confuse them because they have not read the Bible and would be deceived to think that they are under the law instead of being under sins and under the New Covenant to repent. You could be using the law and grace confusion as your 'cover' to excuse or exempt yourselves from preaching the unpopular command to the sinners to repent. However, your behaviour as God's preacher would only show that you have rebelled and rejected the Lord and His command in Luk 24:45-48 even though you may claim that you have done many wonderful works for the Lord in Mat 7:15-24. 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 'quietly' and would not repent. They could have felt condemned and dejected by their former churches because they had been asked to repent, to admit, and to confess their sins. However, they could just falsely accuse all their former churches for preaching the law and condemnation now. 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. 

I will tell them, You said that 'under law, sin is infectious' because it will spread or it will make others sinning too? Please think, If law will make sins infectious, then

• law is worst than SARS or poison, 
• law is the culprit, 
• God who is the lawgiver would be solely responsible for our sins. When we sin, it is God's problem; not our problem. And hence, God must find His ways and means to settle the sin problem which was caused by His laws,
• we would not need to repent from our sins, and 
• we would just need to reject any law or any poison from God ..  

Can you see it ? If you know their hidden agenda and reasoning, you will know that they are false prophets. You will also know that they are 'ding dong bell' preachers who would devise many long arguments and debates to hide their lawlessness. However, by doing so, they would also confuse the sinners, the believers, and those who question them. Hence, one moment, their biblical stand on the law of God was a 'ding', but it would become a 'dong' not long after they started to preach. They would just keep changing their biblical stand on God's words until their entire sermon is always the 'ding dong, ding dong, ding dong' between law and grace .. Please think, Does it look odd if a 'ding dong' preacher would preach radical doctrines from his 'rock star' outfits at one moment and then change into his normal pastoral outfit with a neat tie while preaching godly values and decent living at another moment? I would think that it looks odd because it is like putting on some kind of 'cover' to make his points without sincerity or simplicity in his biblical stand. 
Yes, his stunt may always captivate the audience who love God and God's prosperity, but they will have no intention to repent and would be jealous of others who have repented. Their pulpits have become the 'HorrorWood' platform for their actors and actresses who entertain themselves with their own popular show - 'Romancing their stones' with the Bible, where everyone is promised to prosper effortlessly without any preaching of repentance from their sins. Instead of preaching the gospel, they preach lies and stones. They have used the law and grace arguments to distract the people from believing in the gospel of repentance. However, I believe that we should preach the following clearly if we want the sinners to truly repent:

• Under the law, the Jews must keep the law and the works of the law that fulfil the law. 
• Under grace, the Gentiles will not need to keep the law and the works of the law.
• But under the New Testament, all those who are under the law or under sin must repent (Luk 13:2-5) and keep God's commandments. Jesus did not say that keeping no commandment is the gospel when He showed us Mat 5:28; but rather He proved to us that all must repent, including the Pharisees (Mat 5:20), otherwise no one can enter the kingdom of God. Hence, repentance is the gospel. 

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.
Mat 5:19-20 KJV  Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.  (20)  For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. (Jesus did not say that we should be as righteous as the Pharisees, but He said we should be more righteous than the Pharisees who were hypocrites. In another words, 1. All the Jews must still repent even though they thought that they were as righteous as the Pharisees, 2. All of us, who are now in Christ should never follow the deceivableness of unrighteousness (2Th 2:10) that is in the Pharisees or hypocrites too.)
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.

It's a thin line between under grace and under fantasy
They will argue, "We will never admit wrong for 'romancing the stone'. God would be pleased to know that we are exalting and promoting Him, His grace, His favours, and His glory. Besides, promoting or boasting about the grace of God is not romancing the stone. Grace is not the stone. Grace is Jesus Christ. Grace is supernatural. Grace is effortless. Believing in grace is like sitting by the beach with your folded hands and enjoying the sun without doing anything, while watching God doing everything for you. Grace makes everything possible effortlessly. Hence, we pray effortlessly, worship God effortlessly, repent effortlessly, live effortlessly, and prosper effortlessly with all the favours of God. Gone were the days when legalistic preachers, repentance preachers, and spiritual warfare teachers would lay down many unnecessary rules and regulations for the people to many things. Of course, we will still pray and have spiritual warfare, but our spiritual warfare is to rest and do nothing, (ahem.., Of course, I mean), to rest in the Lord. Have you seen Star War and some Chinese Kung Fu movies ? They used laser blades and flying swords ! Why do we still use  the hard manual system to fight in the warfare when we can use high tech and effortless methods. However, many believers who are under the law are still living in their primitive world using their old weapons. We are not like them. We have found better thing and better way through the grace of God. Haha, we are not ashamed to boast that we are destined to reign. We are destined to do better. We will prosper .., we will do this.. and that.. We will .. this .. we will .. that .. we will .."
I will tell them, Yes, you can go on and on, and live in your 'grace land' or effortless world. But when you wake up, you will realise that you are not under grace. you are under fantasy. The grace of God does not make us fantasize and rest (or sleep upon) all His warnings and commandments. 
 
::

Who is still under the law ?

Radical grace preachers will always say, "We must preach grace, confess grace, talk about grace, think about grace, and contend with grace; otherwise, we will miss all the blessings of God for us on this earth. If we want to prosper, we must think of His grace radically. His grace will not only save us; it will bless us radically. Paul has said so. Under the law, we must do this and this ... , but under grace, we don't do this and this .... Under the law, we are this and this ..., but under grace, we are this and this..." 
I will ask them, What happen if I do not follow your strange 'law' ? Will I become poor ? Who is under the law ? Are you talking about the Jews, the sinners, or us ?

Are all the churches under the law?
They will say, "You bet. Of course, those who do the law are under the law. If you think of the law or any law, you are law-conscious too. If you are law-conscious, you are definitely under the law. That's why most of the churches are under the law because they  believe in doing good and doing many laws, like the 'do good get good' principles. They are the modern day 'Pharisees' who preach many laws. That's why the Bible warns us that there are still many 'Pharisees' in our churches (Act 15:5) and we need to liberate them from the law churches. That's why we are never tired of preaching the grace revolution. We are the only churches under grace. That's why, being under grace, we would prosper more and this is God's promise to us who preach grace and supernatural transfer of wealth. Look, the churches are on this side, under the law; but we are under grace, on the other side. Please decide, Which side will you choose? More law and more poverty ? Or more effortless grace, favours, prosperity, success, and supernatural wealth without any law ?"
I will tell them, No, this is a 'super lie'. The churches are not under the law. If you are not on the same side with all the churches, you are on the other side with lawlessness. Yes, God will be merciful to our unrighteousness, and our sins and lawless deeds he will remember no more (Heb 8:12). But He will not forgive us so that we can be more lawless in both our thoughts and deeds. He forgives us so that we will have His laws in our mind and hearts. Hence, the Bible would never say that if you think of any law, you are law-conscious and become under the law. Please be honest, Don't you think of God's law and commandments when you read or teach from these Bible verses:

• Psa 1:1-2 KJV  Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.  (2)  But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
• Heb 8:10-11 KJV  For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:  (11)  And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. (12) For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.  (We may not teach the people, 'Know the Lord'; but we would teach, 'Know His laws and do His laws') 

Of course, if we think of God's law, we are not 'the law-conscious'; we are God's law-conscious (I will explain later, why there is a big difference between 'the law' and 'God's law'). However, if God's law is so terrible and if you are so afraid that many people will become God's law-conscious after reading God's law, you will need to erase many Bible verses and liberate the people from the one great law too - the law of Christ. This is absurd:

• Gal 6:1-2 KJV  Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.  (2)  Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
• Rev 22:13-14 KJV  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.  (14)  Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

If you think that teaching the people to do good is also part of the law and make people live under the law, you will need to remove more Bible verses including the following 'do good get good' Bible verses. This is absurd too: 

• 1Pe 3:9-12 KJV  Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.  (10)  For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:  (11)  Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.  (12)  For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.
• Jas 4:7-17 KJV  Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  (8)  Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.  (9)  Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.  (10)  Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.  (11)  Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.  (12)  There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?  (13)  Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:  (14)  Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.  (15)  For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.  (16)  But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.  (17)  Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
• 1Ti 6:18-21 KJV  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.  (20)  O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:  (21)  Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen. ..
• Tit 1:15 KJV Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.  (16)  They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate ...  (2:7) In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, ..  (2:14) 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 .. (3:7) That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.  (8)  This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.  (9)  But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.  (10)  A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject;  (11)  Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself. 
• Php 2:12-14 KJV  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.  (13)  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.  (14)  Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
• Heb 13:21 KJV  Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
• 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:
• 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.
• Gal 6:7-9 KJV  Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.  (8)  For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.  (9)  And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. 

I will tell the radical grace preachers, Have you read all the Bible verses above? Don't you agree that they are teaching 'do good get good' principles to us, and when we teach from them, we would teach the same principles to others too? Are these teaching under the law of 'do good get good' too ? Yes, they are God's laws too. But teaching them can never make us live under 'the law' or the Old Covenant; it will make us live under God's law as promised in Heb 8:10 - God is not mocked: He is not ashamed to put His laws into our mind and hearts and make us a peculiar people to Him. However, if you are not agreeable with God, you may be able to argue and remove all the Bible verses above, rewrite them, or twist and turn the Bible with your own principles and philosophies. You are 'romancing the stone', thinking that any preaching of 'pure grace', 'magnified grace', 'radical grace' or perverted grace can exempt the people from teaching and doing good works. Hence, you are not under grace;  you are under the error of lawless and you could have fulfilled the 'impossible' Bible prophecy in the mind of Peter when he wrote about it in:

• 2Pe 3:15-18 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.  (18)  But grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. (What is the error of the lawless according to Peter's understanding ? It was referred to the teaching of Paul in the following Bible verses:) 
• 2Th 2:3-17 LITV  Do not let anyone deceive you in any way, because that Day will not come unless first comes the falling away, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,  (4)  the one opposing and exalting himself over everything being called God, or object of worship, so as for him "to sit in the temple of God" as God, setting forth himself, that he is God. Dan. 11:36; Eze. 28:2 (it could be the same abomination of desolation and lawlessness as prophesied by the Lord in Matt 24) (5)  Do you not remember that I told you these things, I yet being with you?  (6)  And now you know the thing holding back, for him to be revealed in his time.  (7)  For the mystery of lawlessness already is working, only he is holding back now, until it comes out of the midst.  (8)  And then "the Lawless One" will be revealed, "whom" "the Lord" "will consume" "by the spirit of His mouth," and will bring to nought by the brightness of His presence. Isa. 11:4  (9)  His coming is according to the working of Satan in all power and miraculous signs and lying wonders,  (10)  and in all deceit of unrighteousness in those being lost, because they did not receive the love of the truth in order for them to be saved.  (11)  And because of this, God will send to them a working of error, for them to believe the lie,  (12)  that all may be judged, those not believing the truth, but who have delighted in unrighteousness.  (13)  But we ought to thank God always concerning you, brothers, beloved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning to salvation in sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth,  (14)  to which He called you through our gospel, to obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.  (15)  So, then, brothers, stand firm and strongly hold the teachings you were taught, whether by word or by our letter.  (16)  But may our Lord Himself, Jesus Christ, and our God and Father, the One having loved us and having given everlasting comfort and good hope by grace,  (17)  encourage your hearts, and may He establish you in every good word and work. (Paul has warned us to stand firm and hold their teachings of good word and work, whether by word or by their letters, because he knew that the lawless one will attack and remove all their Bible teachings in the end time.)  

I will tell them, Yes, I agree that the Jews were under the law. It is because they had the law and they were under the law to do the works of the law to be accepted by God. But it is ridiculous to say that the world, the sinners, or the churches are under the law too just because they believe in the teachings of good works and in doing God's laws. Yes, the Bible did say that all are under sin. That's why all must repent and turn from sins. But did the Bible say that all are under the law of Moses and all must repent from the law? No, this is absurd. This could be a brilliant conspiracy from the lawless one who hates God's laws. He will shift the believers' focus to become so obsessed with endless vain arguments against the Bible, against God's law, and against the teaching of the Lord that he can secretly introduce the error of the lawless (or tares Mat 13:25) into the churches and incapacitate them from preaching any goodnews through repentance in Christ under the New Covenant. He is brilliant but he will be exposed and destroyed by the words of God.

• 2Th 2:8 LITV And then "the Lawless One" will be revealed, "whom" "the Lord" "will consume" "by the spirit of His mouth," and will bring to nought by the brightness of His presence.
•  Rev 19:19-21 KJV  And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.  (20)  And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.  (21)  And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh. (Yes, it was a great war, but it was not a physical war; it could be a war of the minds or doctrines. It could be a war of the spirits in the heaven and spiritual realm too. We are sure in that war today if we know that the Lawless has been revealed.)

  
The Jews were under the law; whilst we and the world are under sin 

** Were the Israelites under grace before the law was given?
Most radical grace preachers argued that the Israelites were under grace before the law or the Ten Commandments were given, and that's why there was not any death recorded from the time they entered into the wilderness until they received the law. I will ask them, If you don't see any Israelites died before the giving of the law, does it mean that they were under grace or under the covenant of grace? No, How can you say that they were under grace when the covenant of grace through Christ had not been given yet? No, the Israelites were all under sin before they were given the law. They were all under sin, like Adam and Eve, like all the people of the world, who did not know God. Yes, God had been very patient with some of them. They were called out by God to be a peculiar people and a holy nation. Yes, some of them, from the time of Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph until Moses, did receive favour, grace, and blessings, but it did not mean that they were all under the covenant of grace. It did not mean that they could never die or be judged no matter how they sinned before the law was given.

I will tell them, We have not been given the law so that we can do the law like the Jews to be accepted by God. God has rejected the world, the Gentiles, and us long time ago because we were totally lost without His law. We may have all kinds of religions which teaches us to do good and to follow our own religious laws. We may also think that we can get to God if we will do good under our own religious laws. However, to God, we are all under lawlessness.

• 1Jn 3:4 KJV  Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
• 1Jn 3:4 LITV  Everyone practicing sin also practices lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.
• Rom 3:9 KJV  What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;

Hence, if we are under lawlessness, we are not under God's law or covenant. To God, we are like the 'wild olive' broken off from Him, from His law and covenant. We, the Gentiles and the world, are all under sin. If we want to be under His law or covenant again (or to be grafted back to Him), we must repent through the gospel of Jesus Christ and be baptised by Him, not only in our mind, body (physical and behavioural), but in our spirit too. This is the New Covenant which Paul would preach to the Gentiles and the world. The world are not under the law (to do God laws); the world are under sin and lawlessness (to repent). We should not boast as though we are better than the law or the Jews who were under the law.

• Rom 11:13-19 KJV  For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office: ..  (15)  For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?  (16)  For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.  (17)  And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;  (18)  Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee ..
• Gal 3:22 KJV  But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
• Gal 2:15-16 KJV  We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,  (16)  Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
• 1Co 9:20-21 KJV  And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law;  (21)  To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.
• Rom 3:1 KJV  What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?

Both the Jews and Gentiles today must repent under the New Covenant 
I can understand it if most of the ignorant believers or sinners do not know if they are under the law or under sin. However, if you are a preacher or a pastor and you do not know it, you have no excuse because you ought to have read the Bible more than us who need to hear from you. If you have to preach the gospel to save the sinners, you'd better know whether they are under the law or under sin. It is because if the sinners are under the law, we would just need to preach grace and tell them to do nothing with their sins. We can just trust God to deal with their sins after they are no longer under their laws. However, if they are under sin, we must preach the gospel with repentance from sins. Repentance is the only way and ultimate way for the sinners to come to God under the New Covenant through the gospel of Christ which calls sinners to repentance.

• This is the goodnews for the Gentiles because they who hear the preaching of repentance and repent in Christ are considered as born again believers (Joh 3:3-8) without the law and without the works of the law as practised by the Jews. 
• It is also goodnews for the Jews too because they can now come to God through repentance without their law, without their works of the law, and without the law of circumcision.

Don't you agree that this is goodnews and this is good enough for both the Jews and Gentiles to come before God with repentance ? Imagine what a relief for many of us who are afraid of circumcision? However, if we think that this is not good enough and we have to preach it with more goodness of God, with more radical grace philosophies, with more lawless promises, with more lies, and with more fake repentance, to convince the people that it is goodnews, we are not preaching the gospel; we are preaching our gospel with our own efforts. I have shared about my dream about my stainless steel water tap. In my dream, I dreamed about the need to be woken up by others. Yes, we need to be woken up by the repentance preachers too ! In our natural thinking, we may think that most people will not repent if we always ask them to repent. Jesus knew that it was so. But why did He still insist of preaching repentance as His main ministry, instead of preaching wealth, prosperity, healing, relaxing, enjoyment, favours, and effortless wonders ? It's because He knew that repentance was the only way and ultimate way for the sinners and the Jews to enter the kingdom of God and that there would be people who will still repent because of His words (even if there is no promise and preaching of radical grace, prosperity, or goodness of God):

• Mat 4:17 KJV  From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
• Mar 6:12 KJV  And they went out, and preached that men should repent.
  Luk 13:3 KJV  I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
• Luk 24:45-48 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.  (48)  And ye are witnesses of these things.
• 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.  ..(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.
• 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.
• Joh 8:11 KJV  She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

Do we still preach against the law like the way Paul preached to the Jews in the past ?
Do we still preach to the Jews today ? Yes, probably if we are in Israel or in their synagogues. However, if we preach to the Gentiles most of the time, do we preach to them like preaching to the Jews ? I find it ridiculous to preach to the sinners (the world, the criminals, the thieves, the adulterers, the con men, and the liars) that they have believed in too much law and they need to rest under grace instead. No, they all need to repent; not just the criminals or the thieves, but all of us who are under sin need to repent too.

• Rom 3:9-10 KJV  What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;  (10)  As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
• Rom 3:23 KJV  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
• 1Jn 3:4 KJV  Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.  

Hence, I find it ridiculous to preach grace only or believing only, instead of repentance from sin and lawlessness. Many of us could have changed the gospel of Jesus Christ without knowing it. We could have changed the gospel of repentance by preaching more about grace, more about lawlessness, and more against the law instead, because we could not repent or did not like to repent.

Paul did not preach against God's law and commandment
They will say, "But Paul told us in Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews that we should preach the righteousness without the law. We should preach righteousness instead of sin, law, commandments, godly rules, doing good, and any kinds of doings..We don't believe and preach about moral or behavioural modification under the laws and commandments, but we believe in the power of God unto salvation .."
I will tell them, If you do not believe in moral or behavioural change, you will not have moral or behavioural change, even if you claim that you have repented. Please read your Bible again. Yes, Paul did say that we should preach the righteousness of God without the law (or the Old Covenant); but he did not tell us to preach the righteousness without God's laws and commandments.Yes, Paul did say that we are justified by faith without the deeds of the law (or the works of the law); but he did not say that we are justified by faith without any fruit or work.

• Rom 3:21-28 KJV  But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; .. (28) Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

If we read the words of the Lord and James, we will know that Paul did not preach against God's commandments or every work under God's law and covenant:

• Jas 2:17-24 KJV  Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.  (18)  Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.  (19)  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.
• Joh 14:21-30 KJV  He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.  (22)  Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?  (23)  Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.  (24)  He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.  .. (30) Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.  (31)  But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.

Paul preached repentance when he was among the Gentiles
Yes, Paul did say many things against the law. However, have you noticed that he wrote all these to the Jews or the Jewish believers in Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews ? Please enlighten me if he has preached against the law in Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, or Thessalonians too. Hence, isn't it obvious that he would preach against the law only when he was among the Jews ? What did he preach when he was with the Gentiles ? Repentance and fruits worthy of repentance (Godly living and God's commandments)

• Act 26:19-21 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.  (21)  For these causes the Jews caught me in the temple, and went about to kill me.
• Act 17:22-30 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... (30)  And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
• Eph 6:2-3 KJV  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.

Paul would want us to preach all the words of Jesus Christ today
Hence, I will ask the radical grace preachers, If you insist that you should only preach the gospel that Paul preached, do you know what he would preach ? Is it just grace or the curse of the law ? No, he knew that the Gentiles did not have the law; neither did they know the law; but he would preach repentance, teaching, and warning of Jesus Christ:

• Act 20:27-31 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.
• 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: .. (15) Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.  .. (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: 
• 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.)
• 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. Amen.

Did Paul define or explain clearly what is keeping the law ?
Yes, you can find it easily in your Bible if you would just do a simple search on the words 'keep the law'. You would find 4 Bible passages with these words:

• Act 15:5-6 KJV  But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.  (6)  And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.
• Act 15:23-24 KJV  And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia:  (24)  Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:
• Rom 2:24-26 KJV  For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.  (25)  For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.  (26)  Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?
• Gal 6:12-15 KJV  As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.  (13)  For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh.  (14)  But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.  (15)  For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.

Did you find the words 'circumcision' in all the above Bible verses too ? Yes, Paul, the Apostles, and all the disciples understood that 'the law' referred to the law which compelled the people to be circumcised under the law of Moses or the Old Covenant. Hence, today it is ridiculous to accuse everyone for being under the law just because they are legalistic, obeying all the rules and regulations of their countries, keeping many laws, or teaching others to do many good works too.
Paul said in Gal 6:12 above that, as many wanted to look well in the flesh, they constrained or compelled others to be circumcised like them so that they did not need to suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. However, today we still find many who want to look well in the flesh too; they compel us to follow them so that they do not need to suffer for the cross of Christ. They think that they can look well in the flesh if they would just preach against the law and forget about repentance and the cross of Christ.

• Gal 6:12 LITV  As many as desire to look well in the flesh, these compel you to be circumcised, only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.

Sadly, many sinners today have become confused because of radical grace or 'mind changing' philosophy without repentance. Many sinners including the believers have been deceived to think:

• that they are always under the law when they are in fact under lawlessness (sin)
• that they need to do less law when they in fact do not have God's law 
• that they would just keep confessing grace and try to be less legalistic when they should in fact repent from their lawlessness before God
• that they need to hear the righteousness of God when they should in fact be convicted of sin by the Holy Spirit Joh 16:8 KJV  And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

Can we use the confusion of the law to justify whatever we can do under grace ? No.
Many radical grace preachers think that they can boast under grace. But when they quoted the law to compare with what they could do radically, unknowingly they could have used it to gratify the desire of their flesh to boast and to live with their lawless or radical philosophies. They may not commit adulteries or live with sinful lives but they may teach and influence our next generation to live with the wrong philosophies, and wrong philosophies will lead to wrong living one day. 
They will argue, "But what's wrong if we boast in the name of the Lord ? Under law, we cannot show that we are at ease with ourselves, we cannot shout and scream, we cannot clap and cheer. We cannot walk to our pulpit in styles, we cannot do this and that; we can only tiptoe to our pulpit in boring silence, like the Pharisees. You think that this is humility ? No, this is false humility. But under grace, we are so secured that we can just stroll in to our pulpit in styles, amidst the cheers and shout of our 'fans' and followers. You may criticise us for encouraging idol worship, but I am just representing Jesus to receive the glory from the people. The Jews can never give glory to God if they did not have the anointed kings like king David or king Solomon. So, likewise, we are the anointed ones or channels for the people to give glory to God too.. Haha. Under law we cannot boast, we cannot live in the flesh, we cannot feel good about many things, we cannot dress like rock stars, we cannot enjoy sex or fame and talk freely about it on the pulpit, we cannot do this and that; we can only live like a monk? No, this is false holiness; but under grace, we are so righteous that we do not need to live like a holy monk - we can do everything in Christ now (Php 4:13). We can boast about all things in the Lord and yet we are very humble. We will glorify His name.. Under law, we cannot do this and that .. but under grace, we can do all things and we can boast about it .. Under law, we are poor.. under grace, we prosper.. Under law, we are under stress to do do do, Under grace, God supplies and bless bless bless.., Under law, sin is highly infectious and contagious, so is holiness, and it is effortless under grace .. God spoke to me in an audible voice, err.. I mean in an inner small voice, to preach all theses and glorify His name.. "
They said that they are the channels through which God can receive the glory from the people.  I will tell them, God will still receive the glory without you or your people. If God wants the glory, He can make the stones to give glory to Him too:

• Mat 3:8-9 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.
• Psa 98:7-9 KJV  Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.  (8)  Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together  (9)  Before the LORD; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.  

I will tell them, "Yes, of course, we can boast too. Before we are successful, we stammered, but now we can speak very well in the name of Jesus. Before we are successful, we could not write but now we can write like a pro. Before success, we stayed in a small house but now we are richer because we stay in big houses. Before success, we do not know how to boast or promote ourselves but now we can boast 'like a pro' .. Before .. now .., before .., now ... " Well, what do you see if we boast like this? It sounds like some kind of 'snake oil' promotion on the streets. There is no spirit of humility; but only hypocrisy and lies, even though we can boast very well, in the name of God.

Under the law or grace, no one can boast

If Jesus did not accept the Pharisees who boasted with the thinking that God would be glorified by their works and boasting, neither would He accept us if we boast like the Pharisees or king Saul thinking that God would be glorified by our boasting or offerings. Under both the Old and New Covenant, God has said that He is not interested in any offering or boasting if it is done out of pride, human lust, lawlessness, or rejection of God's commands:

• 1Sa 15:20-24 KJV  And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.  (21)  But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal.  (22)  And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.  (23)  For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.  (24)  And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.
• 2Co 10:5-8 KJV  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;  (6)  And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.  (7)  Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? If any man trust to himself that he is Christ's, let him of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ's, even so are we Christ's.  (8)  For though I should boast somewhat more of our authority, which the Lord hath given us for edification, and not for your destruction, I should not be ashamed:

I will ask them, You said that Under law, sin is infectious, under grace, holiness is contagious (effortless) .." Are you saying this to the Gentiles or the Jews ? 

a. For the Gentiles and us, we are under sin, not under the law. we don't have God's law to show us that we are under sin although we do have many men's laws, our own laws, and perverted laws. But, in the eyes of God, we are all under lawlessness (1Jn 3:4) whether we like it or not. But under grace, holiness is not contagious without our conscious effort to repent too. The Bible tells us that, under grace, all must repent. Holiness is contagious and will abound only if the repentant sinners or believers are well taught about sanctification, honour, and holiness according to the commandments of the Lord (it is not effortless without any command) :

• 1Th 4:1-8 KJV  Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.  (2)  For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.  (3)  For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:  (4)  That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;  (5)  Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:  (6)  That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.  (7)  For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.  (8)  He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit. 

b. For the Jews and Pharisees who are under the law (Gal 2:15-16), yes sin is infectious; but for them to be under grace and to abound in holiness, they must have repented and followed the teaching of the Lord too. Hence, Paul teaching above on sanctification, honour, and holiness would still apply for the Jews. However, I wonder, Why would the radical grace preachers keep preaching on "Under the law, sin is .. Under grace, holiness is .. " when there are no Jews or Pharisees in their churches. Probably they think that the sinners in their churches would think that, being under the law, they will not need to repent from their sins ? However, unknown to them, by keep reminding their believers to abound in grace and holiness, they are confirming the words of Paul again on how they ought to walk and to please God (v1), and how they should possess their vessels in sanctification, honour, and holiness (v3,7). However, unknown to them, this would contradict against what they have always preached ie:  holiness is contagious, effortless, and doing nothing. They have confused their believers.

Was Jesus a friend of the sinners because He ate with them or because 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 we, the grace preachers are like Jesus who hated and preached against the law, and we are the friends of sinners too. 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.

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 7:11-13.

Were the Israelites under the law AND under the wrath of God ?
They will say, "Under the law, sin is infectious, but under grace, holiness is contagious. Under the law, it means that you are under the wrath of God. How do I know this ? The Bible shows us that the Israelites were under pure grace in the wilderness before they received the ten commandments. That's why they murmured and no one died. But the moment they said, "We will obey and keep all God's commandments", they fell into sins again. They were in pride, and they died. So don't ever think of keeping any law or commandment. The law is like poison. The moment you are conscious of it or when you are law-conscious, you will die. Before the Israelites boasted and asked for God's commandments (Exo 19:8), they were under the covenant of grace and no one died. I could not find any death recorded in the Bible. But the moment they asked for the law, 3000 of them died. 3000 death were recorded for the first time. This proves to us that the law or any law will bring death.."
I will ask them, If you think that the law is so horrible, why don't you speak your hearts and speak openly that the law is from the devil; but grace is from God? If this is the impression you have give to the people, you have preached lawlessness with the grace that is not from God but from the lawless one:

• 2Pe 3:15-18 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.  (18)  But grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. (Peter showed us that in the last days, it is not the sinners who will preach lawlessness or the error of the lawless; but is is the believers who will preach lawlessness and the error of the lawless to us. How do we know that this will happen in the churches? It's because Peter told us in v16 that they would use the Scriptures to pervert and argue with the churches .. and we are already seeing it happening today ..)

I will tell them, firstly, no death recorded in the Bible does not mean that there was no death. Please think, Did the Bible have any record about going to the toilets ? No. Did the Bible say that the Israelites married and gave birth during that time ? No. However, can we just make blind conclusion that no one went to the toilets, that no one married, and no one gave birth? Of course, it's ridiculous. I will tell them, If you want to prove that God's law brings death, you will need more lawless efforts to find a better argument; not this kind of blind conclusion. Anyway, I believe that you will have a hard time to prove it because Jesus have already proved that God's law do not bring death, but instead it brings life. He did not only confirmed it at the beginning of the New Testament; He confirmed it at the end of the New Testament too:

• Mat 19:17 KJV  And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
• Rev 22:13-14 KJV  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.  (14)  Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

I will ask them, You said, "The Israelites were under grace before they received the ten commandments. That's why they did not die" ? Are you sure ? If people will not die because they were under grace before the giving of the ten commandments, why did Adam die, Noah died, Abraham died, Isaac died, and Jacob die too ? Were they under grace before the giving of the law ? Ok, assume that you were under grace too, will you die ? Of course, all will die whether you are under grace or under the law. When somebody died or did not die, it would not prove anything. It is even more ridiculous to have the thinking that when somebody died, it is because of their pride, their sins, or their laws:

• 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.
• 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.

Hence, if you read the Bible, you will know that the crux of the matter is to prove who will die or not die in this world; but who will not die in the spirit. Jesus said, If you repent, keep the commandments, and have God's laws in you, you will never die.
I will ask them, You said, "The Israelites boasted and asked for God's commandments in Exo 19:8". Are you sure ? Please read it again. How can the Israelites boasted and asked for something that had already been given ?

• Exo 19:3-8 KJV  And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;  (4)  Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself.  (5)  Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:  (6)  And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.  (7)  And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him.  (8)  And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.

God had already given them the law and covenant even before they asked for it. Can we or the Israelites blame God later when the Israelites died because of the giving of the law ? No. The Israelites died because of their rebellion; not because of the giving of the law. Don't twist the Bible to give the wrong impression for the lawless.
You said, "The Israelites were under grace or the covenant of grace. That's why they murmured and rebelled but God would still forgive them and no one died." Are you sure ? I cannot confirm if they were anyone died in the wilderness before the giving of the law, but I can confirm that God was more gracious to the Israelites because of His covenant with Abraham. However, it was not the covenant of grace yet until Jesus came. The Israelites were a peculiar people because they were covenant people with God from the beginning. However, they could never be under the covenant of grace or know the grace of God until they knew Jesus Christ (For more explanation of the chart below, please see video: Is there law in the covenant of grace?)

Joh 1:14-17 KJV  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.  (15)  John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.  (16)  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.

They will argue, "Does it matter if we preach against the law ? We learn that Paul would always preach against the law. I am just following him to preach the grace of God. I have learnt all these by myself through the wisdom of God:

"Under law, sin is infectious; under grace, holiness is contagious..", "law supplies; grace demands", "Under law, you must do this and that; under grace, you do nothing", "under law, you cannot prosper; under grace you would prosper effortlessly", "Under law, we feel condemned, dejected, and depressed; but under grace, we feel loved", "Under law ..;under grace .. " 
  
Who is under the law ?
I will ask them, Are you preaching to the Jews, the believers, or the sinners when you preach like the law or grace experts ? 

a. If you are preaching to the Jews, 
please take a good look at your own audience again before you blast off with the wrong teaching of the law. Very likely, you have preached to the wrong target audience with your bitter arguments against the law or the works of the law known and practised only by the Jews, Peter, and Paul when you are not even a Jew.

• 1Ti 1:7-8 KJV  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;
• 2Pe 3:1-18 KJV  This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:  (2)  That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:  (3)  Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts ..  (9)  The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance ..  (14)  Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.  (15)  And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;  (16)  As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.  (17)  Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked (lawlessness), fall from your own stedfastness.  (18)  But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen. 

b, However, if you are preaching to the believers,
you are still speaking to the wrong crowd too. The believers should have the law of Christ to do good, not the law of the Jews to circumcise themselves. They will argue, "No, we must expose all the legalistic believers who are under the law. Yes, they may not be Jews but they have been deceived by the Pharisees to believe in the law. When they teach others to do many things, to do good get good, and to think of any law, they are under the law.."
I will ask them, The lawyers are always thinking about the laws; are they under the law? After they have received Christ, can they still think of the laws ? Of course. Many welfare organisations, including those run by the Christian organisations, would always think of doing good too; are they under the law? Of course, we don't just accuse everyone as under the law just because they think of their laws, rules, and regulations.

• Joh 1:17 KJV  For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

I am sure you have always quote from the Bible verse above, but have you ever pause and ask yourselves: Who has truly received the law given by Moses? Of course, only the Jews. You and me CAN NEVER received the law given by Moses because it was the covenant only between God and the Jews. Hence, we can never be under the law; we are under sins. We may have many laws. Some religious bodies may think that they have the law of God to do good and do many things. But those are not the law given by Moses. In the eyes of God, we are still under sins as sinners, unless we have repented in the Lord to receive grace under His New Covenant. 

c. However, if you are preaching to the sinners, 
you would certainly confuse them because they have not read the Bible and would be deceived to think that they are under the law instead of being under sins and under the New Covenant to repent. You could be using the law and grace confusion as your 'cover' to excuse or exempt yourselves from preaching the unpopular command to the sinners to repent. However, your behaviour as God's preacher would only show that you have rebelled and rejected the Lord and His command in Luk 24:45-48 even though you may claim that you have done many wonderful works for the Lord in Mat 7:15-24. 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 'quietly' and would not repent. They could have felt condemned and dejected by their former churches because they had been asked to repent, to admit, and to confess their sins. However, they could just falsely accuse all their former churches for preaching the law and condemnation now. 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. 

I will tell them, You said that 'under law, sin is infectious' because it will spread or it will make others sinning too? Please think, If law will make sins infectious, then

• law is worst than SARS or poison, 
• law is the culprit, 
• God who is the lawgiver would be solely responsible for our sins. When we sin, it is God's problem; not our problem. And hence, God must find His ways and means to settle the sin problem which was caused by His laws,
• we would not need to repent from our sins, and 
• we would just need to reject any law or any poison from God ..  

Can you see it ? If you know their hidden agenda and reasoning, you will know that they are false prophets. You will also know that they are 'ding dong bell' preachers who would devise many long arguments and debates to hide their lawlessness. However, by doing so, they would also confuse the sinners, the believers, and those who question them. Hence, one moment, their biblical stand on the law of God was a 'ding', but it would become a 'dong' not long after they started to preach. They would just keep changing their biblical stand on God's words until their entire sermon is always the 'ding dong, ding dong, ding dong' between law and grace .. Please think, Does it look odd if a 'ding dong' preacher would preach radical doctrines from his 'rock star' outfits at one moment and then change into his normal pastoral outfit with a neat tie while preaching godly values and decent living at another moment? I would think that it looks odd because it is like putting on some kind of 'cover' to make his points without sincerity or simplicity in his biblical stand. 
Yes, his stunt may always captivate the audience who love God and God's prosperity, but they will have no intention to repent and would be jealous of others who have repented. Their pulpits have become the 'HorrorWood' platform for their actors and actresses who entertain themselves with their own popular show - 'Romancing their stones' with the Bible, where everyone is promised to prosper effortlessly without any preaching of repentance from their sins. Instead of preaching the gospel, they preach lies and stones. They have used the law and grace arguments to distract the people from believing in the gospel of repentance. However, I believe that we should preach the following clearly if we want the sinners to truly repent:

• Under the law, the Jews must keep the law and the works of the law that fulfil the law. 
• Under grace, the Gentiles will not need to keep the law and the works of the law.
• But under the New Testament, all those who are under the law or under sin must repent (Luk 13:2-5) and keep God's commandments. Jesus did not say that keeping no commandment is the gospel when He showed us Mat 5:28; but rather He proved to us that all must repent, including the Pharisees (Mat 5:20), otherwise no one can enter the kingdom of God. Hence, repentance is the gospel. 

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.
Mat 5:19-20 KJV  Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.  (20)  For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
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. (Jesus did not say that we should be as righteous as the Pharisees, but He said we should be more righteous than the Pharisees who were hypocrites. In another words, 1. All the Jews must still repent even though they thought that they were as righteous as the Pharisees, 2. All of us, who are now in Christ should never follow the deceivableness of unrighteousness (2Th 2:10) that is in the Pharisees or hypocrites too.)

Under grace, it does not mean that we have no more God's laws
They will say, "Under the law, God demands righteousness from us, but under grace, God imparts righteousness as a gift to be received.. Under the law God said I will by no means clear the guilty but I will visit their sins to the third and forth generation. But under grace, I will by no means remember your sins and your sins and iniquities I will remember no more.. The law condemned the best of us, but grace saves the worst of us. Hence we must not have any law including the law which tell us not to kill, not to do this  and that like the ten commandments..There must not be mixture of law and grace in the gospel .."
I will ask them, Are you speaking or God speaking ? Are you quoting from the Bible or are you hearing from your heads ? Are you speaking to the Jews under the law or the sinners under lawlessness?  If you remove all the laws and commandments from the Bible, what should we teach our children and our lawless generation ? What kinds of law should we teach instead ? They will argue that they will only have grace, pure grace, or lawless grace to teach the children and the lawless generation. However, I would think that, without the laws and commandments of God, it is mostly their own laws and philosophies which will teach the children. Yes, grace can teach, but according to the words of God, grace must still teach through the words of God, His commandments, and sound doctrine:

• Tit 2:1 KJV  But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine..  (4) That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, .. (10) Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.  (11)  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,  (12)  Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; (15) These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.

I will ask them, Please be honest after reading the above. What will show the grace of God that bringeht salvation and teach us ? Of course, God's words, commandments, instructions, corrections, and sound doctrine. Please think, Can you reject all these and just deceive the people that grace alone can teach without any words. No, ultimately, without the words, commandments, and sound doctrine from God, it will be your own philosophies, your own psychologies, imagination, and your own 'law' that will teach the people.

Under grace, we are a condemned people who are given a 'second chance' to be under God's covenant
Yes, the law condemned and killed because most of the Jews who refused the grace of God through repentance were under the law or Old Covenant. However, it does not mean that the sinners will be saved by just rejecting the law which they've never received. No, both the Jews and the Gentiles must receive grace and Jesus Christ through repentance under the new covenant. Without repentance, both the Jews (who are under the law) and the sinners (who are under sins) will be condemned. Without repentance, both the law and sins will kill ! Have you preached the truth ? The gospel is not just to reject the law, think about grace, and do nothing. Have you preach repentance and Jesus Christ through repentance under the New Covenant ? Otherwise, it is like telling the people not to be greedy, not to be under sins, or not to be under any law; it is useless. It's because people will still be greedy everyday. They will still be under all kinds of laws and sins, and they will still not be saved. If we are truly God's preachers, we must tell them that God has made a covenant to save us; but we must be under His covenant. Hence, we should point people to that covenant. God has made two covenants with the people - The Old Covenant and the New Covenant. Of course, the Old Covenant is out of the question unless we love to be circumcised and we were the Jews who lived in the days when God made a covenant with Moses through the ten commandments and the stones. However, today both the Jews and Gentiles must all believe in repentance and do repentance to be under His covenant. This has not been changed in the Gospel until today:

• 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.  (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.

We are a people like the fig tree planted in God's vineyard. However, because of sins and rebellion, we could not bear any fruit. We are already a condemned generation in the eyes of God. But Jesus was like the dresser of the vineyard. He came to give us a 'second chance'. He would 'dig about us, and dung us' so that we will bear fruit. In another words, He gave us repentance so that we could bear fruits and turn to God before the end of time.

• 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.

**Under grace, we can go straight to Christ without being under the law at all

• Gal 3:24-26 KJV  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.  (25)  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.  (26)  For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

It is correct to say that the Jews was under the law, and the law was their tutor or schoolmaster which will bring them to Christ. But can we insist that the churches are also under the law or falsely accuse them as being under the law just because they have preached many laws. Of course, this is ridiculous.

1. Firstly, we may be too legalistic or too rigid with the rules and regulation, but we can never be under the law just because we have many church rules or regulations. Do you know that some radical grace churches have more rules and regulations than the legalistic churches too, especially after they have moved to bigger, or more modern, more expensive, and more exorbitant churches ?
2. Secondly, please interpret the Bible with the Bible. Can you read Gal 3:24-26 above again ? Can you please teach clearly who were those under the law? Didn't Paul say clearly that they would be under the law if they believed in the law as 'their schoolmaster to bring them unto Christ Gal 3:24' ? Are there still churches today preaching and believing in the law as 'their schoolmaster to bring them unto Christ' like the Jews ? Otherwise, not everyone  can come under the law so easily. In fact most of us, the Gentiles, are under lawlessness and sins. We are totally lost and under total darkness because we are not under any covenant like the Jews who knew God's covenant and the law which was given by Moses: Joh 1:17 KJV For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. 
3. Thirdly, Paul had mentioned clearly that they were under the law, when he wrote about Gal 3:24-26 and those were under the law, because they were Jews (not because they were Gentiles who sinned under lawlessness). Gal 2:15-17 KJV  We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,  (16)  Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.  (17)  But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.

Is it lawful to do good (or teach others to do good) 

1. under the law ? 
2. under grace ?

We will continue to discuss about it in 'Is it lawful to do good, or to do evil'.

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