No — being under grace does not mean Christians are free to ignore the commandments or to sin as they please.
Les Feldick repeatedly teaches that grace is not license. Believers are no longer under the Law's ritual demands, but the moral content of the Ten Commandments still applies because love is the fulfilling of the Law. Obedience is not abolished; it is transformed from external compulsion to an inner response of love.
Romans 6:14 — This verse directly relates being 'not under the law, but under grace' to freedom from sin's dominion, not freedom from moral responsibility.
Romans 13:8-10 — Paul shows that loving one's neighbor fulfills the commandments, making love the believer's ongoing relationship to the Law.
Ephesians 6:1-2 — Paul quotes the fifth commandment to children, showing the Ten Commandments still function in the age of grace.
The Bible does not present grace as permission to disregard God's commandments. Romans 6:14 says, "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace." The same verse connects grace with freedom from sin's dominion, not freedom to sin. Paul continues to appeal to the Ten Commandments after declaring believers are under grace. Romans 13:8-10 says, "Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law." He then cites the commandments against adultery, killing, stealing, false witness, and coveting, and concludes that "love is the fulfilling of the law." The commandments are not erased; they are fulfilled through love. In Ephesians 6:1-2, Paul tells children, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise." Even under grace, the commandments continue to function as moral instruction for believers.
Les Feldick makes it unmistakable that grace is not license. He has told his classes for over twenty years that grace is not license, and that being under grace does not give believers freedom to do as they please; it changes their appetites and motives. When Paul asks, "Shall we sin because we are not under the law, but under grace?" the answer is "God forbid." God's mind on sin has not changed even though believers are no longer under the Law's penalty structure. Feldick also insists that the law is not thrown out as useless. The Ten Commandments are basic to the believer's social fabric, and Paul reiterates nine of the ten commandments in his epistles; the only one he does not repeat is the Sabbath. The difference between law and grace is not the moral standard but the motive. Under law, obedience was commanded from outside; under grace, it comes from within, from a heart of love. Love is the fulfilling of the Law, so the believer is not going to steal, commit adultery, worship idols, or bear false witness. Even when believers fail, grace operates differently from law. The law's response to picking up sticks on the Sabbath was death by stoning; under grace, God deals with His children in love and discipline rather than casting them out. The commandments remain part of the believer's life, but they are lived out by love rather than by legal compulsion.
According to Les Feldick, the difference between law and grace is not the content of the commandments but the motive. Everything God said 'thou shalt' does not become permissive; it becomes that which comes from within. A believer automatically adheres to the law's moral standards — he is not going to steal, commit adultery, or have a pagan idol. Under law, breaking the Sabbath brought death by stoning; under grace, failure brings loving discipline from God, not rejection.
Les Feldick points to Paul's use of the Ten Commandments in his letters. Paul says children should obey their parents because it is the first commandment with promise, and in Romans he repeats the commandments against adultery, killing, stealing, false witness, and coveting. Feldick notes that Paul actually reiterates nine of the ten commandments, with the Sabbath being the only one not repeated. Paul never says believers are free to break the commandments.
Les Feldick highlights Romans 6:14, where Paul says sin, or the old Adam, shall not have dominion over believers because they are not under the Law but under grace. He explains that believers are not under the ritual and stipulations of the Law of Israel or under the demands of Judaism; they are under grace. Yet this does not mean they can sin as they please. Paul's response to that thought is 'God forbid,' and God's view of sin has not changed. Grace changes the basis of the believer's standing, not God's moral standards.
The Truth About Grace, Faith & Abraham — Romans 4:13-25
come right back to Romans chapter 4, believe it or not, and we're going to drop right in where we left off in our last program. Again for those of you watching on television, I have to do this, I hate to repeat, but every week we're getting calls from new listeners who just found the program, and well it just amazes us.
Law vs. Grace Motive
Les explains that under grace, the commandments are not cancelled but obeyed from the heart. Paul never says the Ten Commandments are of no earthly good.
Paul Repeats Nine of the Ten Commandments
Les shows that Paul repeats the Ten Commandments in his letters, including the command to honor parents. He observes that the only commandment Paul does not repeat is the Sabbath.
The Law Is Not Thrown Out
Les clarifies that while believers are under grace, he is not throwing the law out as useless. The Ten Commandments remain part of the social fabric, and Paul's word in Romans 13 is to defraud no one but to love.
Grace Does Not Mean We May Sin
Les directly answers the objection that grace permits sin. Paul's response to sinning because we are under grace is 'God forbid,' and God's mind on sin has not changed.
Grace Is Not License
Les reads Romans 6:14 to show that being under grace removes sin's dominion, not the moral law. Grace is not license.
Grace Changes Appetites and Motives
Les responds to the idea that grace lets believers sin freely. Grace is not license; it changes the believer's appetites and motives.
Grace Deals Differently with Failure
Les contrasts the law's death sentence for Sabbath work with grace's loving discipline. Grace deals with failure differently but does not treat the commandments as irrelevant.
Romans 6:14: For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
This verse is the center of Paul's teaching that grace, not law, is the believer's sphere, and that sin does not rule there.
Romans 13:8: Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
Paul speaks of love as the active fulfillment of the law, showing that the law's demands are not ignored.
Romans 13:9: For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Paul directly quotes several Ten Commandments, demonstrating their continuing moral force.
Romans 13:10: Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
This concludes Paul's point that love is what fulfills the law, not an excuse to disregard it.
Ephesians 6:1-2: Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise.
Paul applies a specific Ten Commandments command to believers, showing the commandments remain relevant under grace.
Galatians 5:1: Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Paul connects Christian liberty with standing fast in freedom, not with abusing grace to sin.
No. Les Feldick is clear that grace is not license. Believers are no longer under the law's demands, but love is the fulfilling of the law, and Paul never says believers are free to break the commandments.
Les Feldick notes that Paul reiterates nine of the Ten Commandments in his epistles. The only one not repeated, he says, is the Sabbath command.
No. Les says the law is not thrown out as useless; it is basic and part of the believer's social fabric. The change under grace is the motive: obedience comes from a heart of love instead of external compulsion.
Watch the Teaching: The Truth About Grace, Faith & Abraham — Romans 4:13-25