Luk 12:1 LITV At which time the myriads of the crowd being gathered together, so as to trample on one another, He began to say to His disciples first, Take heed to yourselves of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
Mat 23:28 LITV So you also indeed outwardly appear righteous to men, but within are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
Many think that it is men (eg. the Jews, the Pharisees, and the hypocrites) or the law which put Jesus on the cross. But, in reality, it is our lawlessness which put Him on the cross. We need to repent of our lawlessness, especially in the end time.
Mat 7:23-24 LITV And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; "depart from Me, those working lawlessness!" (24) Then everyone who hears these Words from Me, and does them, I will compare him to a wise man who built his house on the rock;
Mat 24:11-13 LITV 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. (13) But the one who endures to the end, that one will be kept safe.
But do we know how to endure? We endure by rejecting lawlessness and those who do, think, preach, or work lawlessness in the hearts of the people.
If we have problem preaching like Jesus who preached against sin or lawlessness, something is wrong with us.
There is no lawlessness in the grace of God
But there is God's word, God's command, and God's law in the true grace of God. Many argue that they have turned to God because they have continued in the true grace of God:
Act 13:43 KJV Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.
I will ask them, Can you continue in His grace without continuing in His words? I don't think so, because Jesus has said it plainly that those who believe in Him or believe in His grace must continue in His words or commandments too:
Joh 8:31-32 KJV Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; (32) And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Is there a problem if Jesus would tell you that, if you continue in His word, you must continue in His command or in His Father's command too (Joh 12:49-50, 14:24, Mat 7:21)? If you cannot continue in God's command, you have not turned to God. You may insist and say that you have repented and that you can hear Him only, but you have changed your mind only. You have not turned to God. You are not a disciple yet !
You may disagree. You may say that this is a hard saying or command to you. Yes, it is certainly:
1. a hard saying to the sinners who do not know Him;
2. but, a command to the believers who follow Him
He is still speaking to us today. Can we hear it now? If we can hear or accept it, it is a command because we know and believe Him, But if we cannot hear or accept it, it is a hard saying because we are not a disciple yet. We may keep hearing it, but we can never really hear it.
If we are the true believers, we must turn to God by turning away from lawlessness
Hence, Jesus would never just tell the people to repent and change their minds only. He preached repentance and told the people to turn away from their sins and lawlessness:
Joh 5:14 KJV Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.
Joh 8:11-12 KJV She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. (12) Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Luk 13:3 KJV I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Jesus said, The spirit of lawlessness will rise again in the end time. Paul, Peter, and John had all confirmed it (2Th 2:7, 2Pe 3:15-17, Rev 11:10-11). The lawless one and their followers will oppose and fight against the law and the prophets in the end time. How will they fight? Is it with missiles and tanks? Is it a physical battle or physical killing between the angels of God and the spirit of lawlessness. No, Revelation is a book full of many Bible prophecies and illustrations, but it is also full of hidden mysteries, spiritual warfare, and awesome truth in those pictures and illustration. We cannot interpret like we telling our children their favourite Marvel comics or bed time stories. We cannot take everything in the book of Revelation literally. We need God's wisdom to interpret the lawlessness of men in the spirit realm too:
Rev 11:10-11 LITV And those living on the earth will rejoice over them, and will make merry. And they will send one another gifts, because these two prophets tormented those living on the earth. (11) And after three days and a half, a spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood on their feet. And great fear fell on the ones beholding them.
Now question: Can lawlessness put Jesus on the cross a second time to atone for the sins or lawlessness of the people who will fight against the law and the prophets (against God's commandment) in the end time (in Rev 11:10-11)? No. It is a shame for any 'lawless' preacher to preach it:
Heb 6:4-6 LITV For it is impossible for those once having been enlightened, and having tasted of the heavenly gift, and becoming sharers of the Holy Spirit, (5) and tasting the good Word of God, and the works of power of a coming age, (6) and having fallen away, it is impossible for them again to renew to repentance, crucifying again for themselves the Son of God, and putting Him to open shame.
When men try to fight against God's commands (or the Word) again in the end time with the spirit of lawlessness, they will fail miserably. They may try to 'kill' (eliminate or terminate) the law and the prophets by means of their fantastic videos, thoughts, confession, or lawlessness preaching. They may even try to put Jesus on the cross again to atone for their sins and lawlessness. But this time The Word will come and judge them:
Rev 19:11-13 KJV And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. (12) His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. (13) And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
A lawless preacher is a preacher who preaches lawlessness
Many will argue, "Please stop accusing us as lawless preachers. We are not lawless. Grace has given us the power to sin no more. We have never committed adulteries. We do not watch pornography. And we do not have incredible lusts for other women. We are more righteous because we believe in grace and confess righteousness. We preach only Jesus. How can we be lawless? We do not preach the law or the prophets because Jesus is greater. Grace is now greater than any God's command or commandment. Grace has taken over as the gospel nowww..."
I will tell them, If you preach in this way, it is lawlessness and hypocrisy which has taken over nowwww.. Hypocrisy has blocked your mind or your people's mind from true repentance from lawlessness. Please think, Does it mean that a person is considered lawless in the eyes of God only if he does lawless deeds or behave lawlessly? No, Adam and Eve had never done any lawless deed or acted lawlessly but they were considered to have committed lawlessness. Hence, you may not be considered as a lawless sinner, but if you think, preach, or enjoy lawless thoughts and philosophies, you are a LAWLESS PREACHER. Do you have any problem with this definition? Or else please tell us what is a LAWLESS PREACHER of your own definition? Your rejection of God's laws including all the written words in the scripture, the law and the prophets, and the Ten Commandments has confirmed that you are lawless based on the prophecies of Paul, Peter, and John in their letters and books (2Th 2:7, 2Pe 3:15-17, Rev 11:10-11).
The lawless one has started to preach lawlessness since the start of lawlessness in the Garden of Eden
I know that when I say this, I will offend some preachers and hurt their feelings, especially the 'lawless' preachers or those who preach 'no law'. But I will still say it, anyway; otherwise, not only people's feeling may be hurt, but their salvation may be seriously 'hurt' too.
We might have heard of it by now (from the hyper grace preachers) : "Law demands, but grace supplies". However, do we know the origin of these words or suggestion which has also become a confession, a slogan, or a 'law' to many sinners or believers in the world today? Yes, it has become a 'law', but not God's law. I will explain why it is a law later. But now let us find out the similarity of this suggestion (law) and the serpent's suggestion (law) to Eve:
Gen 2:16 - 3:1-5 KJV And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: .. (3:1-5) Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? (2) And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: (3) But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. (4) And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: (5) For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Now can we see the kind of picture, law, or suggestion that the serpent was trying to show Eve? It was a picture which showed that:
1. God who commanded men with the demand of His law, is less generous and loving than
2. the serpent who could show more advice, more supplies, and more abundant life to men
Of course, it was a lie, a lawless advice, or a 'law' of lawlessness which the devil had preached to Eve and Jesus (Mat 4:1-10); and it could still be the law of lawlessness which he will preach to the Church in the end time. Many will argue, "Yes, in the beginning, God of the law commanded and demanded, because there was no grace. But, in the end time, Jesus is grace, and grace will supply. So, what's wrong if we preach Jesus is grace or 'law demands and grace supplies'. Please don't put words into our mouth and falsely accuse us. Watch our mouth now. We've never said that Satan is grace .."
I will tell them, Yes, God is watching. Do you agree that Jesus is the Word who came in the flesh, and grace and truth came from Jesus Christ (Word > Jesus > grace & truth - see John 1:14-17)?
If you agree that grace came from Jesus (or the Word), can it be grace if it has no God's word or God's command? No, if grace has no God's command, it is not grace; it is the serpent. Similarly, if Jesus has no God's command, He is not grace too; He is the serpent.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God, and the Word was made flesh, and grace and truth came by Him. Hence, He is the word and law from the beginning, and He has never changed since the beginning.
Lawlessness will prevail where there is no law or teaching of God
I don't like to make comparison; but, if someone has started to make the wrong comparison and cause many to think lawlessness, I will discuss more on that comparison. I have heard of preachers who preached grace from Joh 1:17 (For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ), made comparison between law and grace, and concluded that grace is greater than law. I will tell them, If you want to compare, please compare it all the way to the beginning:
Joh 1:1 KJV In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God .. .. (14) And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
1. So, who is the greatest? Jesus Christ, the Word, law, grace, or truth? Jesus is the greatest because He is God. But between the Word and grace, who is the greatest? Of course, the Word. Why? It is because the Word is Jesus; but grace is from Jesus. Grace is like all other gifts or attributes of God eg. love, joy, peace, hope, and truth and they are not God. We may say that "God is love", "God is truth", or "God is grace", but we cannot say "Love is God", "Grace is God", or "Bread is God". It is because God is greater than all His attributes which could be love, grace, or truth.
2. Now do we hear the Word? or do we hear grace? We hear the Word; not grace. Why? God commanded, "Hear ye Him" in Mat 17:5. So, we hear Him; we hear Jesus, the Word, and God. We hear the Word; not grace which came by the Word or came by Jesus Christ.
3. How do we hear the Word? We hear the Word by knowing His words, His laws, and His commandments. To know His words, laws, and commandments, we must read His words. To read His words, we must do and teach His words. We must keep His words. However, do we hear the word that has no law or commandment for us? If the Word has no law or commandment, He is not the Word, He is not Jesus Christ; but He is lawlessness. Hence, we do not hear the Word by hearing the law of lawlessness, the law of the devils, or his law of 'demand and supply'.
4. But why did the Bible tell us to hear grace in Tit 2:11-12? We should read the Bible in context by reading the whole chapter of Tit 2:
Tit 2:1-12 KJV But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine: .. (10) Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. (11) For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, (12) Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world ..
I know that in Proverb or Psalms, there are Bible verses which say that the wisdom 'teaches' or the trees of the fields claps their hands too. Hence, I have no problem accepting the figurative way of speaking. But, if we use that to say that grace is God or grace can teach better than God's words, God's commandments, or God's doctrine, something is wrong. Please read Tit 2 again. Paul mentioned about sound doctrine and grace. If we must think of grace and sound doctrine as two 'persons' who can teach, who is the real 'person' who can teach? Please be honest, Is it Sound doctrine? or Is it Grace who must still teach based on sound doctrine? Of course, grace is not a doctrine, neither is it the Word; how can it teach better than God's doctrine or God's laws?
Law demands, but 'grace' supplies?
"Law (of God) demands, but 'grace' (no condemnation without law) supplies. Isn't this a law; but a bad law? But if we accept or believe whatever the devil says or defines based on this law, we are doomed. Hence, this can never be the law of obedience from God. If it is not from God, it is a bad law even though many men or preachers may try to prove that it is a better law than God's law, because it has grace or something else which supplies (eg. helping them to find a job or to have more babies and even assuring them that they cannot be condemned if they sin). I don't think anyone can deny that It was the devil who said it, defined it, preached it, 'painted' it, and gave men the wrong picture or corrupted law that "God demands, he supplies" or "God's law demands, but his law (his lawlessness, his lie, his promise, his wisdom, his knowledge, his prosperity) supplies". This law (of lawlessness) has replaced the law of God and it has been so firmly planted into men's body, soul, and spirit that all men today must be born again. Now, question: Will the serpent still preach this law to all men again? No, he will only need to preach it to those who are born again and has the word, the command, or the law of God again in their body, soul, and spirit.
Many argue, "No, we have never preached the word as a law, and we don't call it lawlessness either; we call it grace. We have ensured that we preach only grace (ie. pure grace with no more law). Hence, when we gave that illustration or picture of how the law demands; we were talking about Jesus who has no more law for us. Only the devil or the law will demand."
I will tell them, Do you know that when you preached it, you have already preached it like a law? For example, you said to your believers that they MUST preach and think of pure grace ONLY, that they MUST NOT do and teach any law, that they MUST NOT boast like the Israelites or boast against other believers, and that they MUST be as humble or gracious as you who preach radical grace .. , do you know that that 'hypocritical instruction' itself is already a 'law'? You may insist that you were careful not to mention any 'law', any 'command', any 'do's and don'ts', any 'thou shalt not', any harsh words to your believers, but your 'gracious' word, advice, or reasoning, is still a subtle version of your men-made law to your people. Hence, I don't see any reason why you can preach the gospel more graciously when you openly and deceitfully find fault with all God's commandments; but secretly, hypocritically, and ungraciously promote your own 'lawless' law, 'prosperity' law, 'effortless' law, worthless law, 'immunity' law, 'righteous confession' law, 'mind changing' law, 'holy communion' law, or your own 'demand and supply' law. Some preachers are worst than the 'ding dong bell' preachers or 'lukewarm' preachers. They will 'beat around the bush' and lead the people round and round in the 'wilderness' with their fanciful arguments against the law of God, but at the end of the day, they will still come back to the law of God and tell the people to confess the law or the words of God based on Psalm 1:1-3 or Jos 1:8. They will redefine or repackage the law of God and claim that it is no more the law of God, but their own living 'word' which can surely prosper them. Obviously they know how to use God's words, but they will steal God's words, change God's laws, and claim credit for showing the people how to prosper 'lawlessly' without any law of God. They could be as crafty as the serpent who knew how to convince Eve with his craftiness on the words of God:
Gen 3:1-5 KJV Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? .. (4) And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: (5) For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Many may still argue, "Yes, we may seem to beat around the bush and condemn the laws or commandments, but we have high regard for God's laws. Actually our regard is so high that we would not recommend anyone doing the laws. It s because none of us can fulfil the high demand of the laws. We can only let Jesus keep and do all the commandments for us. So, when we ask the people to meditate on the law or keep the law of God in Jos 1:8 and Ps 1:1-3, we are actually telling the people to think of only one great commandment: ie. to believe in Jesus, to hear ye Him only, to think of Him only. It is not hearing Jesus plus doing many other things. It is not hearing and doing; it is hearing and thinking of doing nothing .."
I will tell them, If this was really what Jesus preached, all the Jews and the religious hypocrites could have been saved long time ago. They were all waiting and hoping that Jesus would preach a great commandment, a great favour (grace), or anything which could satisfy or justify them. They might seem to care very much for the law, but in reality they cared only for themselves or anything which could profit them:
Mat 22:35-36 KJV Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, (36) Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
Luk 10:36-37 KJV Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? (37) And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
Mar 7:9-11 KJV And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition. (10) For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: (11) But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free.
What is God's law?
Many will say, "If you do not agree that "Law demands, but grace supplies" and preach like us, you are not with us. If you are not with us, you are no more under grace, but under the law. You can never prosper like us. What is God's law in your opinion?" I will tell them, "Yes, I am no more under the law to believe your hypocritical 'law' either. Do you know that the Pharisees would use that kind of 'law' to convince others to follow their laws too? So, I will say, God's law demands, protects, and sustains; there is no but's. Can you condemn me as under the law just because I do not follow your law? Of course, we can certainly preach law and grace. However, we don't preach it to balance them; we preach it to help the people to see the cross '+'. Unlike the cross, law itself can never lead people to the true salvation and grace of God; neither can grace alone. We are saved by grace to have the law of God in our lives (Heb 8:10, 10:16). However, can it become a 'mixture' in our lives? Absolutely not. How can we say that it is a mixture just because we have all the gifts of God (or the fruit of the Holy Spirit)? It is a 'mixture' only if we take away God's law and mix grace with prosperity; it will become a lawlessness mixture. On the other hand, if we teach like the Pharisees and mix the law with our own righteousness, it will become hypocrisy mixture. Hence, since Jesus would preach against lawlessness and hypocrisy, He would always show us the cross. The picture of the cross '+' is a picture of what we must do. It is a picture of 'no' or 'x' to any form of lawlessness in the world. To the Chinese, it is the word '十 ten'. To the majority of the people who hate God's commandments, it is something which they hate the most too.
Luk 9:23-26 KJV And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. (24) For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. (25) For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? (26) For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels.
Many are now arguing, "So, are we saved if we do not take up the cross? Yes. Of course, we can just interpret the cross as something that is 'effortless' or something that we like to carry. Of course, I am sure He won't mind. It's because we are under grace and He loves us too much to condemn us." I will tell them, You need to read His words again. Jesus would not preach what you like to hear; He preached:
1. what you must do before you are saved and
2. what you must do after you are saved
I will explain more in my next post (K126) If we are saved under grace, are we 'saved' if we do not do anything?
No. God will never change His laws or change Himself so that all His laws will no longer demand; but become 'hyper grace' or lawlessness that supplies. God had given Adam and Eve the law or command to obey Him; He will still give us the same law to obey Him today too. Hence, of course, there are still thing(s) we must do after we are saved or after we are cleansed. I will discuss more about it in K126.
Why do we preach against lawlessness and hypocrisy?
Do you agree that a country will fall if it has bad law or no law? I don't care how powerful is that country; if that country departs from the law, the legal system, or the good governance, it will surely fall. We do not need the brain of any rocket scientist to know this. Many hyper grace preachers will say, "Yes, we agree totally. 'But' we are in the kingdom of God. The law is useful only for the world or the Jews who are still under the law; but it is not for us any more. We are under grace in the kingdom of heaven."
I will ask them, Are you in heaven now? If everyone (including you yourselves and the sinners, the believers, or the churches) can still fall, everyone in the world without exception can still be convicted by the Holy Spirit or God's law, no matter how righteous you may think of yourselves: Joh 16:8 KJV And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
So, please use your brain to think, If the people of the world know that they need to nurture, educate, teach, and train their people (including the young and the old) to build their own legal system from scratch and to sustain a well-balanced and harmonious democratic society, how much more we, the people of God, need God's laws to do better than them. If the people of the world know the importance of their law, it is a great shame for God's people not to know His law. In the last days, God will use the laws of the non-Christian nations to shame the Christian nations who have no law or who have departed from God's laws. Do you realise that many developed countries who once believed strongly in God or God's laws have suddenly become very poor recently? It happens so fast that we know we are living in the last generation where lawlessness will spread like wild fires.
Mat 24:11-12 LITV 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.
Many argue that their countries have never practised any lawless deeds or lawlessness, and hence, how can there be lawlessness? However, we know that many of them have fallen into the trap, deceit, teaching, love, and worship of lawlessness without them knowing it. It would take a long time, probably years, for them to discern and clean up the 'tares' or 'lawless mess'. I can say that there are two types of lawlessness:
1. lawlessness by deeds - This is a type of lawlessness which does lawless deeds. It is the most common type of lawlessness in which people will sin and rebel against God. However, it is not the most dangerous type of lawlessness
2. lawlessness by doing nothing - This is the most dangerous type of lawlessness because most people are not aware of its presence and its danger. This is a type of lawlessness which does not have any law to stop, eliminate, or overcome any lawlessness. It will just 'fold its arms' and say, "It is not my problem; it's God's problem, it's the serpent's problem, it's other's problem .. But God's law for me is to do nothing." We may not hear people saying this openly, religiously, foolishly, or hypocritically, but it could have been said in the hearts of many believers who are filled with this type of spirit or lawlessness.
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