Why would a true believer be miserable in a bar, and why does that prove grace isn't a license?
Because grace creates new desires, a true believer no longer fits the old lifestyle. Such a person would be as miserable in a honky tonk as a regular patron would be in church. That mismatch shows grace is not a license, since the changed heart does not want to live like the devil’s crowd.
Les teaches that grace is not licensed. It does not mean a believer can go out and live like the devil’s crowd, mostly because believers do not want to. He illustrates this by saying the average true believer would be as miserable in a honky tonk on Saturday night as a regular honky tonk customer would be miserable in church on Sunday morning. The two are totally different lifestyles with totally different desires, and that is what makes it work. This follows his point that salvation is not working, sweating, and worrying to do enough, because Christ did enough and did all that was necessary. The Law has passed off the scene, abolished, and in its place is the revelation of the mysteries, the grace of God.