Does the Law threaten punishment for believers under grace?
No. For believers under grace, the Law does not hang over them as a threatening punishment, as though breaking it would bring God's hand down. Paul teaches that being under grace does not mean freedom to steal or gossip; instead, salvation through faith changes the believer's whole system of desire.
Les explains that when Paul teaches believers are not under Law but under Grace, this does not mean they are free to steal or gossip. The Law does not hang over them as a threatening punishment, as if breaking it would bring God's hand down. Romans 13:8 says, "he that loveth another hath fulfilled the Law," because love is always the answer for what the Law demands. Les illustrates this: you cannot steal from someone you truly love, gossip about someone you love, or covet what belongs to someone you love. If agape love were functioning, sexual immorality and adultery would die on the vine, because such things lack true love and leave people miserable. Love is the fulfilling of the whole Law. Once a person comes into salvation through faith and under the Grace of God, their whole system of want-to changes.