K140. Did God create evil or sin?

"God created the world right? There is evil in the world right? Then God created evil right? Therefore God must be evil right? Follow the logic in this Video and see..." - See the video posted by Kingdmculture below.
https://youtu.be/MjSNp7PuIkY

The logic of the world on sin
People believe in the logic of the world because they do not know God. However, sadly many people in our churches today are still believing in the logic of the world too. They may believe in God but their logic about the things of God is still the logic of the world. They said, "The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was created by God right? There is evil in the world right? God who created the tree is evil right? But, since God can never be evil, then the tree is evil right? Since the tree is something which determines what is good and evil, it is the law and therefore it is evil right? If we do not know what is good and evil, we do not know the law, and therefore we do not have sin right? .. .. So, God sent His son to remove the law so that we do not need to know or keep any law !!!"
I will tell them, Your logic may sound logical but it contradicts biblical logic. Please think, If you were God, do you want to make things so complicated? Would you create the tree, let the tree become the lawgiver, and then remove the tree or the law forever because they brought sin? No, if God Himself had created the tree or given the law for a purpose, He won't remove it !

What is sin?
Sin is not just bad habits, watching pornography, and feeling condemnation against ourselves. Sin is lawlessness against God. Sin is the transgression, rebellion, or disobedience against God's laws:
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.
The root problem of our sin is not the law, radical legalism, immorality, fear, lust, pride, greed, flesh, homosexual activities, drug addiction, faithlessness, stress, worry, or condemnation; it is the lawlessness which started at the garden of Eden. Today men may learn to overcome the problem of lust, greed, and many sinful deeds, but they may not know the root problem of their sins. The root problem is: When Adam and Eve departed from God's law or disobeyed God's command, lawlessness came into the hearts of men and into the world, and the lust of the flesh multiplied (1Jn2:16-17). The root problem is: Men sinned against God or against God's words.
Jesus came to pay the penalty of sin. Of course, we cannot do anything to deserve for what He did; we do nothing under grace. However, there is one thing we must still do under grace, ie. to repent and turn away from sin or lawlessness.
Yes, we know that we are the sinners who need to be saved from sin. We call 'being saved from sin' as salvation. Is it 'being saved from death, from judgement, from fear, from condemnation, or from poverty'? Yes, certainly, but it does not explain the real meaning of 'being saved from sin'. Many say that 'being saved from sin' is when we are separated from sin, we no longer have sin, we are cleansed from sin, we are forgiven, we are covered, or we are .. and etc, however, forgiveness is not salvation.
Leonard Ravenhill said, "Many preach forgiveness; but forgiveness is not salvation!" (see https://plus.google.com/103386467367636094616/posts/eXJroDpXqVw).
R. A. Torrey said, "Many begin with Him as our Savior, as their sin-bearer and our Deliverer from the power of sin, but they must not end with Him merely as Savior; they must know Him as Lord and King."
I would say, Amen, we must OBEY Him as Lord and King too. It is because salvation is not true salvation until it leads us to know and obey Him as Lord and king. We can never obey what we do not know. Hence, we must obey Him who will teach us and give us God's laws and commandments too.
However, most preaching by the worldly or lukewarm preachers on 'being saved' is undeniably positive and good, but it can never explain the positive side of salvation. For example, we know that we are really saved from darkness only when we have the light or when we see the light. Similarly, we know that we are really saved from lawlessness only when we have the law or keep the law of God too. Since sin or lawlessness is not a created thing; it is the absence of law, it can be overcome only when we have the law of God.

Sin is the absence of the law of God
Like darkness and evil, sin is not a created thing. sin is the absence of something. Sin is not darkness or evil, but it is related to darkness and evil. Sin is the absence of God's law. Hence, when Adam turned away from the law of God, Adam turned to the absence of His law (or turned to lawlessness and nakedness). Hence, contrary to what many preachers said, God's law is not the opposite of grace; God's law is the opposite of lawlessness, and hence, God's law and grace are not mutually exclusive.
Gen 3:6-7 KJV  And when the woman .. 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 ..
2Co 4:6-7 KJV  For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ ..
Heb 10 :16-17 LITV  "This is the covenant which I will covenant to them after those days, says the Lord: Giving My Laws on their hearts, and I will write them on their minds;"  (17)  also He adds, "I will not at all still remember their sins" and their lawlessnesses (see Heb 8 :10 too).
Please think, How will God write His laws on our hearts or minds? Is it achieved by supernatural 'inscribing' of His laws on our hearts, brains, or organs? Of course, no. Writing on our hearts is just a figurative way to say that He will teach us to do and keep His laws in our lives. Have you read the parable of the Lord below? It is also a figurative way to describe the 'lawlessness' of a believer, a sinner, or a descendent of Adam today.
Mat 22 :11-15 KJV  And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:  (12)  And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.  (13)  Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  (14)  For many are called, but few are chosen.  (15)  Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk.
The Jews were known to be God's chosen people who received God's favors and God's law. Today there are many who think that they themselves are the chosen people too because they are saved by the blood of Jesus. But, if the Jews rebelled and crucified Jesus, it should be a fearful warning to all who think that they are the chosen and yet they still want to rebel, live, and argue like the lawless.
Yes, many were God's chosen people because they were saved, protected, or bought by the blood, for example:
1. Abel who offered his sacrifice with blood,
2. the Israelites who put the blood on the door posts of their houses
3. the Jews who offered the yearly blood sacrifice through the priest, and
4. the Christians who were cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ
However, did the Israelites become immune to the curse of sin and death forever after they applied the blood on their door posts? No, three thousands of them died on the day when they rebelled against God at mount Sinai. If the Israelites, the Jews, or the chosen people still perished when they sinned against God, they can be a fearful warning to all of us who are the chosen people too. Yes, the blood of Jesus is undeniably more powerful than the blood of the animals but it would become bad theology if we teach that His blood is more powerful because it can still give us the immunity to the penalty of sin when we will still sin or rebel like the Israelites. It is certainly a false doctrine if we teach that that is grace or that grace is greater than all our sins or rebellion against God:
Heb 10:26-29 KJV  For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,  (27)  But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.  (28)  He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:  (29)  Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
Many will still try to argue, "We are saved by grace; not by the law. How can you keep talking about the law or keep the law?" I will tell them, Do you know that we are not saved by the wedding garment; but we must have the wedding garment? We are not saved by the Holy Spirit; but we must have the Holy Spirit. Similarly, we are not saved by the law; but we cannot make it to heaven if we are 'lawless' too. In another words, we cannot make it to heaven with the absence of His law.

Sin does not come from keeping of God's law
Sin comes from breaking of God's law or from not keeping God's law. Many will argue, "But didn't Paul and the Apostles tell us to ignore the law? They told us repeatedly and clearly not to keep the law too. It means 'not to keep any law', including God's law !"
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 2:25 KJV  For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.
Gal 6:13 KJV  For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh.
The Bible verses above are the only four places that you will find when you type "keep the law" in your search on a KJV Bible. However, the Apostles had made it clear to us that 'the law' is 'the law which required the Jews to be circumcised'. It could be the law of Moses, the law of the Old Covenant, the law of circumcision, the Pharisees' law, or any Jewish law. Hence, the Apostles explained clearly that we should not keep any law or custom for circumcision; but we are doing fine if we will just keep the law of God or the Ten Commandment to honour God and obey His commandments:
Act 15:24-30 KJV  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 .. (28) For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;  (29)  That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.
The main objective of the Apostles' decree was not to add the burden, the law, or the requirement of circumcision to the believers. But please think, Do you think that keeping the Ten Commandments is a burden too? No, in fact, the Apostles wrote and told the church to keep the law of God or the Ten Commandments by abstaining from idol worship and fornication. The Apostles' rejection of 'the law' which enforced circumcision was not equivalent to their rejection of all the laws and commandments of God; instead, it reinforce the commandments of God:
Eph 6:2-3  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.

Hence, sin separates men from God
Sin can separate men from God because God hates sin. God does not hate men. But, if men continue in sin, God cannot continue to have fellowship with men. Many think that the blood of Jesus is the ultimate solution to remove all the past, present, and future sin of every man. Some may even apply it like the 'liquid solution' literally. Yes, the blood of Jesus pays the penalty of sin for every man, but ultimately men must still keep the law of God. If men cannot keep the law of God perfectly well on earth after being purchased by His blood, they must still keep the law of God in Spirit and in truth. Many hyper grace preachers preach that the law can visit them up to their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd generation and condemn them, but only grace can make God remember their sins no more. I will tell them, Wrong:
1. Firstly, it is not the law of God that condemned, killed, or slew us; it is sin:
Rom 7:11-17  For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.  (12)  Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.  (13)  Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.  (14)  For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.  (15)  For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.  (16)  If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.  (17)  Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
2. Secondly, you will never find "grace makes God forget your sins" in the Bible. Instead, you will find "God remembers your sins no more because of His laws":
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, the blood of Jesus Christ is not an end by itself; the end is to restore men so that men can become God's people who have the law of God in them. His blood does not only cleanse, but also restore. When that happens, God can have fellowship or communion with men. When that happens, sin can no longer separate men from God:
Exo 25:21-22 KJV  And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.  (22)  And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.
Heb 8:10 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:
I will tell them, If you you cannot get the doctrine of sin correct, how can you preach right believing or true repentance? No, you can only preach pseudo-repentance and keep repenting or confessing like the Pharisees. If you cannot understand what God hates the most and why God hates it the most, how can you preach repentance or grace? Do you know that
1. God hates sin the most not because it makes men lustful, greedy, and proud; but because it makes men disobedient.
2. God hates sin the most not because it makes men faithless and unscrupulous; but because it makes men lawless.
1Sa 15:22-23 KJV  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.
I will tell them, Do you know that king Saul is not only the chosen one from God's chosen people, he is also the anointed one? He was chosen by grace. Hence, what God said to Saul is still applicable to all of us. If we have no obedience, God cannot have fellowship with us. Obedience is like repentance: it can never be obsolete before we are saved, after we are saved, or after we have become His people. Men must keep obeying God even after they are saved or become His people; otherwise they are not His people or they have not repented yet.

We are saved not to obey ourselves; but to obey God
I will ask them again, Have you prayed for God's protection for couples or given God's benediction for husbands and wives during your marriage seminars or counseling? Do you pray for the marrying gays, lesbians, adulterers, or siblings without asking them to repent? If you tell them to repent, please tell them honestly to obey God's commandments. If you know that there are God's commandments, how can you preach:
1. that there are no more God's commandments to obey?
2. that you have no more need to obey God after you have believed?
3. that you can never sin even if you disobey God?
4. that the people do not need to obey God and turn away from sin to be saved?
5. that the people do not need to obey God's law; but only your 'command' to love God, to do good, to be godly, to rest, to be carefree, to abstain from watching pornography, to love the people, to be gracious, to think positively, to judge no one, to confess righteousness, to take Holy Communion to prosper, .. and etc?
No, you or your words can never replace God or God's commandments, no matter how anointed or how fantastic you think about yourselves. Please think again, You are not saved by your obedience; you are saved by Christ to obey God and His commandments; you are saved not to obey yourselves. However, are you still saved if you do not obey God after being saved? No, I don't think so. Just look at king Saul.
Like king Saul, you may think of the sacrifice of God, grace, Jesus, blood, .. and etc, but you may still be unrepentant, self-centered, self-righteous, and lawless in God's eyes. Why? Your focus is only thinking of getting the justification for yourselves by the sacrifice, without the thinking and doing of the will and commandments of God (Mat 7:21-22). You may justify yourselves and argue that the sacrifice is your obedience to God and that Jesus has obeyed all the commandments on your behalf so that you do not obey anymore, but you are like king Saul before God:
1Sa 15:19-20 KJV  Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?  (20)  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 .. (22) And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? .. (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.
I will tell them, You told others that they have no more law or commandment, but you also told them that they must love God and others. Isn't loving God and others a commandment? If you argue that it is not a commandment, is it just your option? An option to love is different from a commandment to love. Unlike a commandment, an option does not have any consequence if you do not do it or keep it. However, Jesus has never given us the option to love. He did not just preach thinking, feeling, or affection of love, He preached and gave the commandment to love instead. Obviously commandment is the doing part of love, not just the feeling of love.
Joh 13:34-35  A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.  (35)  By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
Joh 14:31  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.
Mar 12:29-31  And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:  (30)  And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.  (31)  And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
1Jn 2:7-9  Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.  (8)  Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.  (9)  He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
2Jn 1:5-6  And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.  (6)  And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.

A believer today can still be tempted by the devil to sin against God
I have said that sin is not just bad habits or things we do against ourselves or others; it is lawlessness against God or transgression of God's laws. Many preachers argue, "But the tree brought lawlessness. Lawlessness is from the tree or the law (not from us). Therefore, if any men do not eat from the tree, do not know the law, or do not follow any law, they can never be condemned by the curse of the law. The Bible tells us that cursed is the men who ate from the tree or nailed to the tree. So, today we do not eat from the tree or keep the law, instead we eat from the Holy Communion. When we eat from the Holy Communion, we become strong, not only spiritually, but physically also. We get healed and prosper too. The tree brought law and curse to men; but the Holy Communion brings grace and peace to the believers .."
I will tell them, Your logic can only deceive the people who are lawless. A man who truly want to repent and turn away from lawlessness will know that your lawless logic is not from God. Just think, Can darkness come from light? No, certainly not, how can darkness or absence of light come from light? Neither can evil or the absence of good come from good too. Similarly, it is absurd to say that sin, lawlessness, or the absence of law came from the law too.

Sin came from the absence of law
Many will ask, "If sin or lawlessness did not come from the tree or law, where did it come from? Please don't tell us that it came from men. We believe that God created men perfectly well and sinless. So, sin can never come from men."
I will ask them, If darkness did not come from light, where did it come from? It simply came from the absence of light; it did not come from God or from somewhere else. Evil did not come from God too; it just came from the absence of good. If you still probe further and ask, "Where did absence of light or absence of good come from?", I give up trying to talk sense into you. I don't know how to answer you. Absence of light is just absence of light. It did not come from anywhere. Similarly, lawlessness is just absence of law too. If you cannot accept it and you would still press for an answer and hope that you can shift the blame to Satan or the tree, you will be disappointed. I will not say that sin or lawlessness came from Satan because people of the world can still keep probing and ask, Where did Satan come from .. ? Who created Satan? .. and so on ..
Today we have been redeemed and restored by grace through faith in the blood of Jesus (Eph 2:8). Many said that Abraham walked with God before the law was given, and therefore, we are now where Abraham was without the law, and hence, we should have no more law under grace. I will tell them, No, with the blood of Jesus, we are now back to Adam's position before he sinned, at the garden of Eden where God's law and commandment has already been given. There is always God's law and commandment in the kingdom of God. Without law, God can never be the judge in the final judgement day and hell can never be established in His kingdom to punish the fallen angels and shut up evil.
Rev 20:12 KJV  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

   Our names will be written in His book
          if His laws are written in our hearts

Rev 20:15 KJV  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Heb 8:10 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:
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, we are no more under the schoolmaster (Gal 3:23-25) to have the law of God written on the stones; but we are still under Christ to have the law of God written in our hearts. His law does not save us; but His law does show whether we are written in His book of life. The mark of the beast does the reverse. It does not kill; but it shows whether we are removed from the book of life.
Many think that if they have been saved, they can never be 'unsaved'. They argue that the blood of Jesus or hyper grace is so powerful that they can never be judged even if they sin or rebel in the future. But God has never said that, if they are saved, they are forever saved irregardless of what they will do in the future. On the contrary, God said that He can save them and destroy them:
Jud 1:4-5 KJV  For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.  (5)  I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.
God said it so clearly: If He saved His people who were under His law and then destroyed them if they believed not or rebelled, He can also save those who are under His grace and then destroy them if they still behave like the rebellious Israelites or ungodly men too.

Sin can still come by the preaching of the Lawless one
Many preachers today try to preach a perverted version of sin for hidden motive. It may not be a motive for personal gain, for selfishness, or for lustful desire, it could be something supernatural, subtle, and lawless. We can understand that no one can preach about sin or against sin perfectly correct. However, if a preacher tries to project himself as a Superstar, Holywood star, KungFu star, or K-pop star, with his new, dramatic, exciting, mysterious, or popular definition of sin contrary to the Bible's teaching, he is just a 'fallen star'.
Jud 1:10-13 KJV  But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves .. (13)  Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.
2Th 2:3-8 KJV  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;  (4)  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.  (5)  Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?  (6)  And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.  (7)  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
2Th 2:7-12 LITV  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. (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.

There are no superstars in God's kingdom, only servants
Some may argue that they have never told people to be superstars, but they have only encouraged them to be the 'kings and priests', successful preachers, rich pastors, the 'anointed' ones, the superstar's 'donkeys', or the 'as Christ is so are we' .. and etc.
Rev 1:3-6 KJV  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand .. (5) And from Jesus Christ ..  (6) And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father ..
Rev 5:9-14 KJV .. (10) And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth .. (14) And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.
I will ask them, Have you read the Bible verses above? Do you know that John was talking about himself as the 'king and priest' too? Was he talking about reigning in our current situation, study, life, ministry, company, or career path? No, I don't think so although I know that God has helped many of us tremendously in our career and life. I won't preach my life into the words of God or Revelation, put it 'on a silver plater', and expect everybody to follow my example. If I do that, I am giving false promises and I would be answerable to God for twisting His words, especially Revelation:
Rev 22 :18 KJV  For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
Obviously John was not reigning like king or priest when he saw the vision in his prison. He was not in a prison with air-conditioner. He did not eat and live like a king too. He did not start a successful prison ministry and became a rich pastor too. It would be absurd if we assume that he was also a successful businessman or 'bestseller' who sold books and messages. Hence, those who twist the teaching of the 'kings and priests' and give the false impression that all the disciples of Jesus Christ could live like kings, successful preachers, and rich pastors, were obviously trying to preach a different gospel or revolution.

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K139. Do we confess our sins or our righteousness?

Do we confess sin only, or righteousness only? Or do we confess both? Can we mix the confessions?
I have said in K138 that guitar and music are like bread and butter. They mix or co-exist in a musical performance. It is absurd to have the guitar without any music. Grace and doctrine are like guitar and music too. Grace and doctrine and the Word are not mutually exclusive. They can co-exist in the words of God. However, there are things that God would not mix. God would separate, for example, God Himself and the mammon, the sheep and the goats, the wheat and the tares, the new wine and the old wine, the New Covenant and the Old Covenant, .. and etc. we do not mix the confession of our sins and the confession of our righteousness too. We certainly cannot do both confessions to God. Please think, If we need to confess that we are sinners before God, can we confess that we are righteous before God too? The confession of righteousness will contradict our first confession before God and
1. it will make our first confession of sin and humility meaningless before God.
2. In fact, that will make both of our confessions hypocritical before God.
I am not against confession; but, if we do not know the meaning or the the biblical truth of our confession, we will rather not confess it.
Mat 3:5-10 KJV  Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,  (6)  And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.  (7)  But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  (8)  Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:  (9)  And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.  (10)  And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Which confession is more biblical?
Is it confession of sin or confession of righteousness? However, the Bible has very clear instructions for us to CONFESS our sins before God (1 Jn 1:9, Luk 11:4); but it is silent about the CONFESSION of righteousness before God.
2Co 5:21 KJV  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Many quoted the Bible verse above to argue that God told them to confess only the righteousness of God. I am not against confession of righteousness, but I am certain that it is not a command or instruction for us to CONFESS it. We know about it but we do not confess it radically or boast about it before God and men. Hence, if any preachers use their confession to argue that, between the confession of sin and confession of righteousness, they can only choose one confession because both confession cannot mix, I will rather choose the confession of sin because CONFESSION of sin is more biblical based on 1 John 1:9, Luk 11:4, and 2Ch 7:14 than CONFESSION of righteousness based on 2Co 5:21.
Jesus even taught us that there were two types of confessions and He would accept only the confession that shows humility and repentance:
Luk 18:10-14 KJV  Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.  (11)  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.  (12)  I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.  (13)  And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.  (14)  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
Obviously God did not choose the publican just because he beat himself; but because he repented. God will still accept us if we confess our sins and get baptised with the sincere attitude of repentance and turning away from our sin, apart from beating ourselves or doing recompense to those we have offended. Of course, if we repent and we are 'stuck' on the cross (like the thief who was crucified beside Jesus), we are not required to do anything. However, if we know that we have stolen from the others and we are not the thief on the cross, "doing nothing" with our confession or repentance is the worst excuse we can give to God.

We can never deny the doctrine of repentance and confession of sin
Many preachers who preached against 1 John 1:9 has kept changing their biblical stand on repentance and confession.
1. Repentance - Some of them would initially preach against repentance, but when they realised that they could not deny it because both Jesus and Paul had preached repentance, they would twist the meaning of repentance as something which they have been preaching, as change of mind only or right believing only.
2. Confession of sin - Some of them would initially preach against confession of sin, but when they realised that they could not deny it because many pastors and preachers, including themselves, still lie, boast, commit adulteries, lust, and sin, they would twist their interpretation to say that they have never denied about their sins. They now say, "There is still sin in us; but no more sin on us (in God's eyes). Jesus reversed the situation to have our sins on Him when there is no sin in Him. But because He is God, Jesus and all of us have no more sin in us and on us now. So, from the beginning, we have never denied sin which is still in us. But there is no more sin on us in God's eyes NOW! We are the righteousness of God in Him in His eyes, and hence, He does not want us to confess sins to Him; but righteousness to Him now!"

We do not confess righteousness to God; we confess sin to God
I will tell them, Your doctrine is logical but it is still not biblical. In fact, it contradicts all your confession to God. Let me ask you, Do you confess to yourselves or to God that you still have sin in you?
1. If you confess to God that there is still sin in you, don't you think that it is still your confession of sin to Him? It clearly contradicts your confession of righteousness to God. However,
2. if you confess it to yourselves, I will still ask you, What's the point if you confess your sins to yourselves only? It is meaningless. The only good thing about the confession of your sins to yourselves is to know that you still have the sin conscience or the need to repent. But ultimately you must still confess it to God. Hence, if you must still confess your sins to God, it will still contradict all your confession of righteousness to God.
I can say confidently that, after I have read the Bible, God wants us to confess our sins to Him; not our righteousness to Him. I have found many Bible verses which command us to repent, confess ours sins, pray for forgiveness, and turn away from our sins, but I have yet to find Bible verses which command us to confess only our righteousness to Him. The Pharisees and hypocrites loved to confess their righteousness and good opinions to God obviously because they did not know the words of God or the will of God. 

Did Paul preach righteousness radically that grace may abound?
No, neither did he preach license to sin that grace may abound. So what did he preach or what would he preach that grace may abound? He preached the knowledge of sin or the conscience of sin to repent (not the conscience of sin to go back to the Old Covenant or the sin conscience to offer our own sacrifice under the law of Moses - Heb 10:2). He preached repentance through the baptism of Christ and that is still applicable to all the Jews and Gentiles. That's why he said:
Rom 6:1-6 KJV  What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?  (2)  God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?  (3)  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?  (4)  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.  (5)  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:  (6)  Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Please think, Did Paul preach grace? Yes. But does it make sense if he preached grace without preaching anything about sin? No, grace abounds only when there is sin! Without sin, there is no need for grace. Hence, the more we preach or know about sin, the more we know about our need for grace. He said, Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound (Rom 5:20). Hence, Paul never told us to confess righteousness that grace may abound; instead he told us to confess our sin, our disobedience (Rom 5:19), our lawlessness (Rom 5:20),  or confess that we are the sinners (Rom 5:12, 20) who need grace from God. Did Paul stop after telling us to confess or know that we are the sinners? No, he continued to preach about repentance, the baptism of death, or the crucifixion of our old man (see Rom 6:3-6 above). Hence, there is no way we can misunderstand Paul and accuse him of preaching license to sin. Paul's preaching showed clearly that:
1. he would never preach license to sin radically that grace may abound.
2. Neither would he preach righteousness radically that grace may abound too
Instead he preached sins and repentance radically that grace may abound.
Act 20:21 KJV  Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
Act 26:20-21 KJV  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.
Many argue that Paul preached only a 'repentance toward God', with no mention of sin or turning away from sin. I will ask them, Is it possible that he would just preach righteousness or grace with no mention of sin? No. Please read his words again. If you deliberately preach a 'repentance' with no mention of sin, you have not only deceived yourselves, you have also robbed the sinners of grace. When the sinners repent without knowing or confessing their sins, there is no grace from God.

Confession of sin is not just a verbal confession and 'full stop'
Many will say, "Ok, ok .. you are right biblically. We agree that we are the sinners and we must confess sin. Although we never tell the people to confess their sins, we preach that they must be saved from their sins. And when they confess that they are saved from their sins, they are saved indeed. They will just need to believe in Jesus and 'full stop'. Jesus is enough. Jesus is their finished work. Hence, what's wrong if we would just preach the finished work of Jesus with no mention of repentance or turning away from sin?"
I will tell them, There is nothing wrong if you were a first day Christian and you suddenly became an overnight street preacher who had only zeal to tell everyone to come to Jesus. However, if you are a seasoned pastor who has God's words and those 'greasy' words would still come out from your mouth, what a shame! Please read your Bible and find out if Jesus or the Apostles would tell us any 'full stop' in their words or preaching. Do you know that the parables of Jesus would always tell you to grow and bear fruits. Paul would never tell you to stop unless you have reached the finish line too:
1Co 9:24-27 KJV  Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.  (25)  And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.  (26)  I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:  (27)  But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
Php 3:12-16 KJV  Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.  (13)  Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,  (14)  I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.  (15)  Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.  (16)  Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.
1Ti 6:11-14 KJV  But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.  (12)  Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.  (13)  I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession;  (14)  That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:
2Ti 4:6-7 KJV  For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.  (7)  I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

What is sin?
You said that you have saved many people from sin, but do you know what is sin? Sin is not just bad habits, watching pornography, and feeling condemnation against yourselves. Sin is lawlessness against God. Sin is the transgression, rebellion, or disobedience against God's laws:
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.
If you say that you have saved the people from sin, did you tell them that they are saved from lawlessness or disobedience against God; not just their bad habits, their mistakes, or their pornography addiction? When they are saved from sin or lawlessness, they are not saved from the law because the law is not sin. Grace is not sin too. Law and grace can never be sin; but they can be bondage when preached wrongly or radically by the Pharisees or false prophets. Hence, being saved from the bondage of the law or grace does not mean that we have been saved from our sins. Deliverance from the false doctrine or from the bondage of the legalistic law, Old Testament law, Moses' law, Pharisees' law, corban law, circumcision law, or human law is not deliverance from sin too. The root problem of our sin is not the law, radical legalism, immorality, fear, lust, pride, greed, flesh, homosexual activities, drug addiction, faithlessness, stress, worry, or condemnation; it is lawlessness at the garden of Eden. The root problem is: When Adam and Eve departed from God's law or disobeyed God's command, sin and lawlessness came into the hearts of men and the world:
1Jn 2:16-17 KJV  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.  (17)  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
Many think that the root problem of the world is the lust, the flesh, and the pride in the men. Yes, we do not deny that they are the cause of many problems in our world and society. But, the root still came from Adam's sin at the garden of Eden.

Sin is lawlessness or transgression of God's law
Hence, If you tell the people that they are saved from their bad habits, selfishness, or hypocrisy, they are not really saved from sin yet, even though you may convince them not to think of any law or any sin. They may still be selfish and hypocritical. But if they are really saved from sin or lawlessness, they will no longer be lawless in their hearts and minds, and they will keep all things that are commanded by the Father, and the Father will dwell in them and help them to overcome the problem of sin, not immediately, but gradually as they learn to know and ask for the will of the Father to be done in their lives:
Joh 15:8-16 KJV Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.  (9)  As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.  (10)  If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love .. (14) Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.  (15)  Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.  (16)  Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
Hence, removing the law is not the solution. But many still argue that removing the law will remove sin and solve the problem based on their own interpretation of the following Bible verses:
Rom 5:20 KJV  Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
Rom 7:9-13 KJV  For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.  (10)  And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.  (11)  For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.  (12)  Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.  (13)  Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful.
I will tell them, Yes, the law reveals sin, and hence, if there is no law, there won't be any sin. But did Paul say that we can remove the law of God? No, God forbid. Jesus did not come to replace God's law so that we have no more law too.
1. Jesus did not come to remove the law and remove the knowledge of sins so that we no longer need to confess our sins to God or obey His laws, but
2. Jesus came to fulfil the law and remove the penalty of our sins so that we can be under a higher law to serve the law of God without the condemnation of the law (Rom 7:25, 8:1). If we read the whole chapters of Rom 7 and 8, we will understand the whole Bible context about:
a. serving of God's law without
b. condemnation of the law.
Hence, if sin is lawlessness and we know that we must be saved from lawlessness, what do we do? We turn away from it. In another words, we turn away from sin, from lawlessness, from disobedience, or from rejecting His laws and commandments, and this is repentance too. Hence, Paul could never contradict himself when he said that he still served the law of God. He showed us that he was still under the law of Christ and yet it was still the law of God:
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 7:25 KJV  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. (8:1-7) There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.  (2)  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. (7) Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.  (8)  So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

We are the sinners because we sin against His laws
We are the sinners not just because we have 'big' sins (when we kill and steal) or 'small' sins (when we lie and entertain bad thoughts). 
Paul said clearly that our mind is in enmity against God when it is not subject to the law of God. In another words, we sin against God when we rebel against His law or commandment. This reminds me of how the prodigal son sinned against God too. Obviously the prodigal son did not sin against his father because he lived a sinful lifestyle and wasted all his money; but because he turned away from his father and his father's commandment, in contrast against his elder brother who still stayed with his father and kept his father's commandment:
Luk 15:13-19 KJV  And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living...  (17)  And when he came to himself, he said, ..  (18)  I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,  .. (25) Now his elder son was in the field: .. (28)  And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.  (29)  And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: .. (30)  But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.  (31)  And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.  (32)  It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.
The jealous elder brother was not a good brother; however, listen to what the father said to him: "Son, thou art ever with me and all that I have is thine". It means he was still a son even though he was jealous and angry of his brother. Hence, God do not judge just based on our jealousy or anger; God will judge based on our sin against Him and His laws.
Many will argue, "But we can never keep the law of God. If we break one law, we break all the law .." I will tell them, Yes, you are right to say that you can never keep the law, but who told you that if you cannot keep one law, you can keep no more law or break all the laws? No, only the devils will preach that. Yes, you are right to say that you can never keep the law, but that is the reason why you know:
1. that you must be constantly under grace and that you still need grace after you have been made righteous by the blood of Jesus Christ. That will also make you realise,
2. that you are not exempted from being in constant repentance attitude, in consciousness of your sinner's nature, and in humility whenever you come before God too.
3. That's why Paul would still confess that he 'was' still a sinner ('of whom I am chief') in present tense
1Ti 1:12-15 KJV  And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;  (13)  Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.  (14)  And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.  (15)  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

We do not radically confess our righteousness TO OURSELVES; otherwise, how can we confess our sins TO GOD
Some will still argue, "Ok, yes we agree that it is not right to confess our righteousness to God. However, what's wrong if we confess our righteousness in God to ourselves? If you listen to us carefully, we have never said that we should confess it to GOD; we confess it to OURSELVES. That's why we encourage ourselves to confess it radically 500 times, 5000 times, or as many times as possible, to convince ourselves that we are righteous. When we are convinced that we are righteous, we will not feel condemnation or conscience of sin anymore. When we do not feel condemned, naturally we will feel the grace or the favour of God. When we feel that we have the favour of God, we will not sin and we will prosper too. I have countless of cases and testimonies which show that people who keep confessing that they are righteous would never sin anymore. They have stopped watching pornography and committing adulteries .."
I will tell them, It is too early to say that they will never sin again. Please think, Will a weak or sinning Christian always confess "I'm righteous in Christ" while he is still in the midst of stealing, lying, watching porno, or committing adulteries? No, it is quite unlikely.
1. If he does that, he is an abnormal Christian.
2. But if a normal Christian would take time to seriously think, remember the words of God, and turn away from sin, he would not need to confess "I'm the righteousness of God". He can just confess "I am a Christian" or "I'm a child of God" and he will still feel the power of God to overcome sins too. However, if he had sinned, confession of righteousness can never give him any power to overcome sin. He should take time to seriously reflect and confess his sins to God instead. When he is humble enough to confess it to God, God will forgive him and give him the power to overcome sins (1 John 1:9).
Please think. If you confess your righteousness (in Christ) so radically that you are convinced that you are so righteous in God's eyes that you can never sin, can you still confess your sins to God when you sin? No, it is unlikely that you will confess your sins or know your sins when you have radically conditioned, brainwashed, or hypnotised your minds to think of only your righteousness in God. I may deduce boldly that you may never confess your sins since the day you heard or believed the gospel of 'righteousness' or 'no condemnation' from the preachers who do not believe in any confession of sins too.
1. I think the Pharisees are like the 'garlic' people. But I must say that I love garlic and there is nothing wrong with the garlic too. The 'garlic' people are fine, but only, until they open their mouths. The moment they start to open their mouths and repeatedly say "I am the garlic, garlic, garlic ..", everything about them start to change. It is because the more they say it, the more they will fill the room with their garlic smell. And they do not know how repulsive they are.
2. Similarly, the 'righteousness' people are like the 'garlic' people too. I love righteousness and there is nothing wrong with being righteous too. But, if the 'righteousness' people start to argue, debate, and repeatedly say "I am the righteousness of .., I'm very righteous .., I'm more righteous than ..", they can become very repulsive to the other people too, even though they can prove that they are very righteous in their own eyes or in God's eyes. Obviously they do not know how badly they smelled when they ate too much garlics and opened their mouths at the same time too.

We are like garlics if we like to boast
Many will argue, "How can we accept your garlic nonsense? The righteousness of God can never be garlics. What you say is just your garlic doctrine; it's not in the words or the doctrine of God. We are not garlics. Do you know how much I have helped those who feel condemned with the confession of righteousness instead of the confession of sin, repentance, and death? The problem of our churches today is not because there are too many sinners who need to confess their sins and repent; but because there are too many people who need to hear the no condemnation messages to stop feeling condemned, sinful, and dead. Many of us still need to be told that we have no more sin, no more condemnation, and no more garlics nonsense .."
I will tell them, No, there are still many people who need to 'die'. If the people do not feel condemned, repent, and die, they cannot live: Joh 12:24-25 KJV  Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.  (25)  He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
But I do not deny that my garlic metaphor is a garlic nonsense, so is your garlic confession. Isa 64:6 KJV  But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Yes, you are right to say that any confession or doctrine that is not a command or instruction of God is merely our own confession and 'garlic' nonsense ! If we know the words and commandments of God, we will know that confession of righteousness is not a command of God too. We can know, understand, or think of our righteousness (in Him), but if we speak, confess, and preach our righteousness (with our loud mouths) to everyone, we would smell like garlics.
Ok, I will not talk about the garlics or the Pharisees, or how we smell like garlics now. I will talk about John in the book of Revelation:
Rev 1:13-17 KJV  And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.  (14)  His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;  .. (17) And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last ..
I do not know the exact reason, doctrine, or theology why John fell at His feet as dead, but I know that if I were there, I would fall too irregardless of how righteous I may feel before God. I would think that we would all fall like the dead because God is holy but we are not. Some may insist that they can never fall because they are under grace and they are more righteous than those who are under the law. I will tell them, You will not fall only if you are more righteous than John but are you really more righteous than John?
Many will still argue, "We have not preached our own righteousness. We preach the righteousness of Abraham, the righteousness of God, or the righteousness of Christ. What's wrong if we preach the righteousness of God instead of our righteousness?" I will tell them, There is nothing wrong to preach the righteousness of God. But when you preach it until the people are deceived that they NEED to hear it frequently, daily, constantly, or radically from YOU instead of from His words or His commandments, it is no longer God's righteousness; it is YOUR 'righteousness'. It is your 'GARLICS'.

But we are like watchmen if we are God's churches
We know that none of us can boast and say that we are more righteous than John the disciple whom Jesus loved. But do we know that John was also the last surviving disciple when he wrote the book of Revelation? Do we know why John ate the little book which was sweet in his mouth; but bitter in his belly (Rev 10:9-10) ? It was also a metaphor about the words of God to the churches in the last days through the mouth and belly of John. The words are certainly not 'garlics'. They may start as 'honey' in the mouth (gospel); but they will end with 'bitterness' in the belly (judgement). Obviously John was a typology of the prophet who was sent to prophesy 'again' to God's people and the churches of God under the New Testament, like Ezekiel who was sent to prophesy the words to the Israelites and the house of God under the Old Testament:
Eze 3:2-5 KJV  So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.  (3)  And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.  (4)  And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.  (5)  For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel .. (11) And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear. ..  (14) So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me.
Rev 10:9-11 KJV  And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.  (10)  And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.  (11)  And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.
Please think, What is the role of our churches today? Is it just to preach the 'honey' and 'money'? No, our churches today must know their role as a 'watchman'. If John and Ezekiel must prophesy with the 'honey' AND the judgement as written and shown clearly to us through the book of Revelation and Ezekiel, do we have the excuse to choose only the 'honey' which we like to preach? I don't think so:
Eze 3:14-27 KJV  So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me .. (16) And it came to pass at the end of seven days, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,  (17)  Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.  (18)  When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. .. (20)  Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand .. (27)  But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house.
Rev 22:10-16 KJV  And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.  (11)  He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.  (12)  And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.  (13)  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.  (15)  For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.  (16)  I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

We do not preach fire and brimstone; we preach the truth
Many will still argue, "Yes, we know that God has commanded us to preach some kind of warnings, but did He tell us clearly what kind of warnings we must preach? No, most of us are not sure if we should preach like the 'fire and brimstone' preachers who judge or keep pointing fingers at others. If there is no clear warning, we would rather preach like grace preachers, and we will just preach the promises, the blessings, and the positive confessions only .." I will tell them, Yes, God's preachers will write with their fingers; but they do not point with their fingers. God wrote with His fingers. Jesus wrote with His fingers too. What's wrong? God's warning (see Eze 3:14-27) is a warning to all men, including the wicked and the righteous, that they will die if they continue to do wickedness or turn to do wickedness. It is also a serious warning to any preacher, pastor, priest, prophet, prince, publican, or Pharisee who preach against His warning, twist it, and lie like the serpent:
Gen 3:4 KJV  And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
Mal 2:7-17 KJV For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.  (8)  But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts .. (17) Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment? .. Mal 3:13-15 KJV Your words have been stout against me, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee?  (14)  Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the LORD of hosts?  (15)  And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.

We should judge ourselves before God will judge us
Many will say, "DON'T JUDGE ! How can you say that we brainwash ourselves or the people? We have been preaching grace to the people who are under the bondage of the law, rigid doctrine, and condemnation. There are too many condemnation preachers who talk about sins to condemn you. We should preach only the righteousness of God and grace to the people .."
I will tell them, I don't care who can preach more grace or more righteousness. Please be honest, If someone tells you to confess it or think about it 500 times or 5000 times, do you follow him blindly? Did I exaggerate or judge wrongly when I said that what you did was brainwashing too? I would even say that the use of Holy Communion to blind the thinking of the people so that they will do it radically everyday or every hour for the forgiveness of their sins, for healing, for prosperity, or for longevity (to live up to 120 years old) is a brainwashing technique too. Please think, What did the Lord say about the Holy Communion? Is it for health and wealth? No, it is for the remembrance of His death. However, you need a lot of brainwashing, false teaching, hard selling, and long twisted interpretation to believe that the remembrance of His death will finally lead to health and wealth:
1Co 11:24-32 KJV  And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.  (25)  After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.  (26)  For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.  (27)  Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.  (28)  But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.  (29)  For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.  (30)  For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.  (31)  For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.  (32)  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
How do we eat it worthily? It is when we eat it for the right purpose and with a pure mind. However, if we (especially the preachers) twist the teaching of the Lord and do it for the hidden purposes and with a corrupted mind without examining ourselves or discerning the Lord's body, we will be judged with sickness, weakness, and death like many. Hence, it is better for us to examine ourselves, discern the Lord's body, and judge ourselves first before we partake or conduct the Holy Communion. If we do that, we will not be judged or condemned with the world; we will be chastened by the Lord instead. It is better to fall into the judging hand of the Lord than being condemned with the world. Many preachers today like to preach the Holy Communion or the blood of Jesus like it is a protection gear or the Iron Man's suit or Holywood fantasy. But how many will preach it with the examination of their lives with repentance and obedience to the words of Christ? https://plus.google.com/103386467367636094616/posts/PYpc9uTCPF6
I will tell them, The scary part of the Holy Communion warning is not the judging or examining of ourselves, or chastening by the Lord; it is the possibility that a BELIEVER purchased by the blood of Christ can be judged or condemned with the world. This should wake us up.

We should remember the Lord's death with sound doctrine and sound  teaching
If we put ourselves in remembrance of the good doctrine or sound doctrine, we will live; otherwise, we will be brainwashed by the false prophets:
1. 1Ti 4:6 KJV  If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.

2. 2Pe 3:1-3 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,

3. 2Pe 1:7-12 KJV  And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.  (8)  For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  (9)  But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.  (10)  Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:  (11)  For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  (12)  Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.

4. 2Ti 2:14-15 KJV  Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers.  (15)  Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Can law and grace mix?
Many will ask, "You said that we cannot mix the confession of sin and confession of righteousness; how about law and grace?"
I will tell them, That will depend on what kind of law and how you 'mix' them. Today we do not simply mix up everything and follow everything blindly. We do not overturn the tables of all the moneychangers or tell the lawyers that they are hypocrites. No, neither do we say that all the laws are bondages to men too. We must know and preach the Bible context on why Jesus
a. overturned the tables of the moneychangers in the temple,
b. judged the lawyers as hypocrites, and
c. condemned the law of Moses taught by the Pharisees as bondages.
Yes, the law of the Old Covenant and the law of the New Covenant are mutually exclusive. They cannot mix. Hence, the law of Moses and the grace of Jesus Christ do not mix too.
1. But, if we say that we cannot mix any law with grace because we cannot mix the old covenant law and the new covenant law,
2. it is like telling the people that we cannot mix any teaching with grace too just because we cannot mix the old wine teaching and the new wine teaching. That is ridiculous. We are not saved by any law or any teaching, but it does not mean that there is no more law or no more teaching under grace. If the doctrine of Christ is based on the law of God and it is in the grace of God, how can we separate the law of God from grace?

a. We are not saved by law, but do we know that words, law, doctrine, and teaching are neutral by itself and that there can be new teaching and old teaching, good law and bad law, God's law and men's law, and good doctrine and bad doctrine too, depending on what is being taught? Of course, the law (of Moses) and grace do not co-exist (Joh 1:17). But we must not confuse the obsolete law with all the law of God because there is always law in God's covenants to men. Obviously those who argue vehemently that law and grace CANNOT CO-EXIST are ignorant or they need to explain their motives and intentions for preaching against all the laws and doctrine of God. They may teach grace 'doctrinally' correct but they could still be lawless in their motives too. For example, they think that it is good or doctrinally correct to be SAVED BY GRACE ALONE; and therefore, they can take advantage of it to reject all the law and doctrine of God and feel justified about doing it too. This mentality is like knowing that they are SAVED BY THE DOCTORS ONLY; and therefore, they feel justified to despise all the nurses and others who did not treat them directly.

b. We are not saved by works or fruits too, but does that mean that there is no more works by faith? No. Can faith and works co-exist? Certainly yes. If James said that you must have faith and works, he meant that faith and works can co-exist (Jas 2:20). They are always together in the will of God.
Jas 2:17-21 KJV  Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. .. (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? .. (24) Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
We are not saved by works, but can we be justified without works? No, neither can we live without the Spirit of God too.
Many will argue, "That's the teaching of James for those who are under the law. But Paul told us that we are saved by faith ALONE." I will challenge them to find any Bible verse which tells us that we are saved by faith ALONE. I can assuredly say that they can find ".. saved by faith", ".. by grace", ".. by the blood", and ".. by Christ", but never ".. by faith ALONE".

c. We are not saved by the Holy Spirit but we are saved by Jesus because Jesus (not the Holy Spirit) died for our sins. But, strictly speaking, are we saved by Jesus ALONE? Are we saved without the Holy Spirit or His words too? It is hard not to question those who preach that they can be saved without the Holy Spirit or the Word. I will challenge them again to find any Bible verse which tells us that we are saved by Jesus ALONE (without our obedience to the Holy Spirit or His words). I will tell them, If you preached that you are saved by Jesus ALONE to contrast against all other gods or saviours, you are doing fine. But if you know that the Holy Spirit, Jesus, and the Word co-exist in the Holy Trinity and you still deliberately find Bible verses to argue that you are forever saved by Jesus ALONE without the Holy Spirit, without His words, or without His doctrine,  you are not really saved. Do you know that raising the controversial argument to find fault and depart from the teaching of His laws, commandments, doctrine, and the Holy Spirit could be a sign of lawlessness or questionable motives too?
It is quite confusing if we try to argue on the meaning of 'mix' (positively) or 'mixture' (negatively) because of our limitation in vocabulary. However, my purpose of talking about law and grace today is not to explore and exploit on the law and grace controversy again.


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K138. If you love music, you would love doctrine too

1. One guitar, but many players and singers
No one need to be perfect to play and sing the music. But the music is perfect when it is sung in harmony by the people. Hence, the guitar, the music, and the singers must work together to produce the symphony. Otherwise, it is not music; it is noise.

2. One grace, but many preachers and sinners
We do not need to be perfect to practise and do the doctrine of Christ too. But the doctrine is perfect in shaping our lives when we do and teach one another to walk in harmony with Him in His footsteps; otherwise, it is not sound doctrine, it is false doctrine. Hence, grace, doctrine, and the sinners must all be there in the church to produce the fruit of salvation too.

Guitar is not a music. Guitar can never replace music too. Guitar and music are like bread and butter. They are not mutually exclusive.
Grace is not a doctrine, Grace is not a doctrine eraser too. Grace and doctrine are like guitar and music. They are inseparable. They compliment each other. The guitar cannot work without the music which comes from the songwriter. Neither can grace teach without the doctrine which comes from the lawgiver too.
Jas 4:12 KJV  There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?
Joh7:14-18 KJV  Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught.  (15)  And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?  (16)  Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.  (17)  If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.  (18)  He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.

 Tit 2:1-13 KJV  But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine: .. (7) In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, .. (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;  (13)  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
The music shows a MERRY CHRISTMAS; the doctrine shows a BLESSED HOPE! Hence, we love the music, but we love the doctrine even more !

However, carrying the guitar could still show a DEEPER MEANING
When I first saw the guitar and the five people who carried and played the same guitar, I immediately thought of Peter, James, John, Mary, and Paul. They were all the disciples of Jesus who carried the cross. Hence, we are reminded to think of ourselves as the church who carry the cross too.
 Luk 9:20-24 KJV  He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God.  (21)  And he straitly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing;  (22)  Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.  (23)  And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.  (24)  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
We may carry our own cross individually, but at the church, we carry one big cross:
1Co 12:13-14 KJV  For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.  (14)  For the body is not one member, but many.
Eph2:18-20 KJV  For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.  (19)  Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;  (20)  And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
Eph 4:4-25 KJV  There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;  (5)  One Lord, one faith, one baptism,  (6)  One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.  (7)  But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ ..  (11) And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;  (12)  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:  (13)  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:  (14)  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;  (15)  But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: .. (17)  This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,  (18)  Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:  (19)  Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.  (20)  But ye have not so learned Christ;  (21)  If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:  (22)  That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;  (23)  And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;  (24)  And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.  (25)  Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.

How do we carry the cross?
Have we read the Bible verses above? That is how we carry the cross. It is certainly not effortless. The musicians, guitarists, songwriter, and singers practised for months, days, or hours before they presented the Feliz Navidad song in 3 minutes; but we use our whole life time to bear the fruit of our salvation. How can it be effortless?
Why did I highlighted the 'speaking in truth' and 'putting away lying'? That responsibility is the greatest for those who are in front and are carrying the 'guitar' or the cross. If the preachers do not lead by speaking the truth, the preachers will turn the whole church into a 'noisy gang' or a 'lousy band' before God. There is no 'music' even if everyone is speaking, shouting, singing, or dancing before the Lord.
Sadly, many preachers today are still telling their believers to carry the cross like carrying a beautiful guitar and sing only the 'Merry Christmas' songs. Some preachers may even dress up like Hollywood actors and K-pop stars. Some can even act better than the stars. They always know how to appear happy, cool, sophisticated, elegant, wise, and at the same time, humble. I think it is ok if they still know the doctrine and teach the doctrine.
However, there is another type of New Age preachers who will just hold the 'guitar' and do nothing after they are purchased by the Lord (2Pe 2:1, Act20:28). They have no 'music' but they will tell the believers that their 'mime' performance is an 'effortless' gospel which they have 'heard' from the Lord (through quiet spirit's prompting, supernatural revelation, or dramatic lies). They are proud to tell you that they have no doctrine, no rules, no principles, no reproof, no commandments, no effort, no work, no do's and don'ts, except grace. They have no 'music'. They just hold the 'guitar' and stand still. Ironically, many believers below the 'stage' will just clap, scream, and yell to encourage them. Some believers will even dance and become hysterical. We may not understand how this is possible, but this is the 'picture' we are seeing in the last days:
Mat 24:4-25 LITV  And answering, Jesus said to them, See that not any leads you astray.  (5)  For many will come in My name, saying, I am the Christ. And they will cause many to be led astray .. (11)  And many false prophets will be raised and will cause many to err.  (12)  And because lawlessness shall have been multiplied, the love of the many will grow cold .. (23)  Then if anyone says to you, Behold, here is the Christ! Or, Here! Do not believe.  (24)  For false christs and false prophets will rise up. And they will give great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.  (25)  Behold, I tell you beforehand.
When the church has no law, no doctrine, or no commandment, it is like a musical performance without the music. It means that the church has no fruit of obedience, no fruit of love, or no fruit of repentance too.

What type of cross Jesus would want us to carry?
We can select our own guitar, but can we select our own cross? I don't think so. There are many types of guitars or string instruments in the world. Many have six strings (guitar), four strings (like the ukulete), or ten strings (Psalm 144:9). The number of the strings in those musical instruments may not be the same but there is something similar in all of them. You must strum or plug the strings. Otherwise, they can never produce music. Similarly, the Lord is not concerned whether our 'guitar' or cross has six 'strings' or ten 'stings', or six commandments or ten commandments; but we must have God's commandments and we must do and teach His commandments. Otherwise, we have no 'music', no 'fruits', and no doctrine too.
Mat5:18-19 KJV  For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.  (19)  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.
Act 1:1-3 KJV  The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach,  (2)  Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:  (3)  To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
2Ti 4:1-5 KJV  I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;  (2)  Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.  (3)  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;  (4)  And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.  (5)  But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
If we have the guitar, we have the strings, and we are just holding them, we can never produce music. Similarly, it is meaningless too if we have grace (Jesus), we have His commandments but we just want to 'hold them in high regard' without doing them, we can never produce any fruit too.

The commandments of Jesus is no longer limited to the 'ten' strings'
I started to write about the comparisons between Moses and Jesus recently in 'K130. Are we under Moses or under Jesus? (1)'. However, today I realize that there is still more to what I have written after I read Act 1:1-3 above. I realize that Moses and Jesus had both stayed alone with God for forty days and forty nights. Moses had to spent two forty days and forty nights before he came down with two similar sets of the Ten Commandments (after he broke the first set of the Ten Commandments). Jesus had to spend forty days and forty nights too before He preached repentance to the people. However, during His second forty days period, Jesus spent forty days with the people, instead of with God. What's the implication of these incidents ?
Exo24:18 KJV  And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.
Exo34:28-29 KJV  And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.  (29)  And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.
Mat 4:2-17 KJV  And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.  (3)  And when the tempter came to him, ..  (11)  Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him ..  (17) From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Act 1:3 KJV  To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:
I believe that both Moses and Jesus came down with God's commandments after the forty days period. But during second forty days period, Jesus came down completely and fully as God; not as weaker man. There is no necessity for Him to spent forty days and forty nights with God again. It also means that His commandments is more superior than the Ten Commandments in stones; His doctrine is still the same repentance He had preached in Mat 4:17 and His commandments are still the same as the Ten Commandments given to the Israelites. But His commandments have become invisible commandments given to all God's people now:
Heb 8:10 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:
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.
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