I
have heard many radical grace preachers rejecting God's laws and
commandments in their 'gospel of grace'. Now many of them would turn and
say that we have misunderstood them. They said, "You have misunderstood
us. We have never preached against obedience to God. We do believe that
we are still the living sacrifice (Rom 12:1) to obey God. But we obey
God more after we have received grace. We obey the gospel of grace. It
is the will of the Father for us obey the gospel by keeping no more law.
Hence, if we must say that we still have the commandment of Jesus
Christ to keep; it is only the 'commandment' of love; and not any
commandment of do's and don'ts like the Ten Commandments. Jesus has
changed everything for us. Under the Old Testament, we are required to
keep the Ten Commandments to do many things or to do this and that .. ;
but under the New Testament, we are given only the commandment to love,
love, and love .."
2Th 1:8-12 KJV In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: (9) .. (12) That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
1Pe
4:17-19 KJV For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house
of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that
obey not the gospel of God? (18) And if the righteous scarcely
be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? (19)
Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.
I
will ask them, What's the problem? If you can obey the gospel, why
can't you obey the commandments? I don't know how you can manage to
define obedience until there is no more commandments to keep or obey.
But according to the words of Paul, I can still see the commandments to
do and teach, and to love:
Rom 15:14-21 KJV And I myself also am
persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled
with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. (15) Nevertheless, brethren, I have written the more boldly unto you in some sort, as putting you in mind, because of the grace
that is given to me of God, (16) That I should be the minister of
Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God .. (17) I
have therefore whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ in those things
which pertain to God. (18) For I will not dare to speak of any of
those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed,
(19) Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of
God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have
fully preached the gospel of Christ ...
Yes, I do see grace in
the gospel of Jesus Christ; but I also see obedience by word and deed.
There is even admonishing or warning in the preaching of the gospel too.
Hence, I don't understand how we can preach the gospel of grace with
grace alone (without admonishing or mentioning the warnings and
commandments of Jesus Christ).
Now I begin to understand why Paul
warned that there will be a radical group of people who seems to be
religious or godly but they are not truly godly:
2Ti 3:2-5 KJV For
men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud,
blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, (3) Without
natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce,
despisers of those that are good, (4) Traitors, heady, highminded,
lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; (5) Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
It
means that they have the form of godliness, but they are not godly;
they have the form of obedience, but they are not truly obedient; they
have the form of repentance, but they will never truly repent; they have
the Words or commandments of God, but they will never do His Words or
walk in His commandments; they have the form of everything in Christ,
but they do not have the Spirit of Christ. This is what Paul had warned
us too:
2Ti 3:1-13 KJV This know also, that in the last days
perilous times shall come. .. (13) But evil men and seducers shall wax
worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
They practice
sins or do sins; but teach the law of God as hard saying and therefore,
they teach that they do not need to keep it. I will ask them, Do you
said that, if no one can keep the laws, therefore no one should keep the
laws? Will you also say, "If no one can take up his cross, therefore no
one should take up his cross too" ? No.
Please think, Are your
churches still conservative about sharing of rooms among the believers
of different sex when you are in your church camps or retreats? I do not
know about your churches; but many churches are still very conservative
about this. They still have the strict rule of not allowing any
unmarried adult to share the same room with another adult of the
opposite sex. Now, the real question is: If our churches are still very
particular in keeping these rules in our church camps, what's the
problem if we still do, and teach the law of God for the young couples
in our churches?
Paul did explain and continued after (v13):
2Ti
3:1-14 KJV (14) But continue thou in the things which thou hast
learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned
them; (15) And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures,
which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is
in Christ Jesus. (16) All scripture is given by inspiration of God,
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: (17) That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
Hence,
it is time to stop letting the radical, hypocritical, or ignorant
preachers to define everything for us. We will tell them to go back to
the Bible, be humble, and humbly obey the word, the doctrine, the
reproof, the correction, the instruction, and the commandment in the
holy scriptures or the written words of God.
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