No — grace is not a license to sin, and being under grace does not mean a believer can sin as much as he wants.
Les Feldick states plainly that grace is not license and does not give us the freedom to do as we please; rather, it changes our appetites and motives. The Apostle Paul himself was slanderously accused of teaching that people should do evil so that good may come, and he answered that those who affirm such a thing have their condemnation just. Scripture answers the very same question in Romans 6 with “God forbid.”
Romans 6:1-2 — Paul poses the exact objection — shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? — and answers “God forbid.”
Romans 6:14-15 — Declares that believers are not under the law but under grace, and answers the thought of sinning because of that with “God forbid.”
Romans 3:8 — Records Paul's rejection of the slanderous claim that grace means we should do evil so that good may come.
The question is raised in Scripture itself. After declaring that “where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20), the Apostle Paul asks the natural objection: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” His answer is immediate: “God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (Romans 6:1-2). Paul answers the same objection after explaining that believers are not under the law, but under grace. “What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid” (Romans 6:15). The preceding verse gives the reason: “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14). Scripture never presents grace as permission to sin. The Bible also records that Paul was slanderously accused of teaching exactly this. He writes, “And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just” (Romans 3:8). The same passage shows that no one has an advantage in righteousness before God: “What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin” (Romans 3:9).
Les Feldick is emphatic that grace is not a license to sin. He states directly, “Grace is not license. That doesn't give us the freedom to do as we please. It just simply changes our appetites and it changes our motives” [Clip 1]. For more than twenty years, he has told his classes the same thing: if someone hears that the grace of God is greater than all our sin and that we are not under the demands of the Law, and concludes that we can do whatever we want and grace will take care of it, that is not what he has ever taught. Les explains that the Apostle Paul faced the identical accusation. Since the grace of God is so great and so free, people slanderously reported that Paul said, “let us do evil, that good may come.” Paul's answer, Les points out, is that their condemnation is just [Clip 2]. At the same time, Les never diminishes the greatness of grace. Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound; God is able to “reach below the vilest sinner, and lift him up, and make him a saint” [Clip 3]. Grace is the attribute of God that can forgive and cleanse the most vile sinner who believes the gospel [Clip 4] — but the moment anyone turns that into permission to sin as he pleases, Les responds with Romans 6:15: “God forbid!” God's mind on sin has not changed, even though the believer is not under the Law [Clip 7].
Les Feldick explains that the accusation is nothing new. When Paul proclaimed the grace of God as so great and so free, people “slanderously reported” that he taught, “Let us do evil, that good may come” (Romans 3:8). Les notes that Paul was up against the very same thing — the claim that grace means you can do whatever you please because God's grace will take care of it. Paul's response was that those who affirm such a thing have their condemnation just. [Clips 1, 2]
Les is clear that grace does not give “the freedom to do as we please.” Instead, he says, “It just simply changes our appetites and it changes our motives.” Grace, in his teaching, is the attribute of God that takes a person who realizes he is nothing more than a fallen creature, under sin and under condemnation, and saves him “on the basis of his believing the gospel plus nothing.” [Clips 1, 5]
Yes. Romans 5:20 declares, “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” Les teaches that every one of us knows someone so ungodly that most people won't associate with them, yet God still loves them and is able to reach below the vilest sinner, lift him up, and make him a saint. He also says that a righteous and holy God's grace is always greater and will always go further than man's greatest sin. But he immediately adds, “That's not license.” [Clips 3, 4]
No. Les Feldick says plainly, “We can go ahead and sin as we please? No, that's not Grace.” He points to Romans 6:15 — “Shall we sin because we're not under the Law, but under Grace? God forbid! Don't think such a thing.” Though the believer is not under the Law, Les stresses that God's mind on sin hasn't changed: “Those things are just as abominable in God's eyes tonight as they were back then.” [Clip 7]
Les clarifies that when he speaks of the age of grace, he never implies God's grace was unknown until Paul. Grace was already evident in the Garden of Eden, it kept God from destroying Israel after the golden calf, and it stayed His hand when they rejected and crucified the Messiah. He says the whole human race today deserves destruction, but God forestalls it by His grace. Yet even in the age of grace, he insists, grace is not license. [Clips 6, 7]
Paul asks, “What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin” (Romans 3:9). Les highlights this final condemnation: no one has an advantage in righteousness, for “there is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10), and all stand in need of His grace. [Clip 2]
Why Even "Good People" Can't Escape God's Judgment — Romans 2
Do you remember what I�ve always told you circumcision does? It cuts off that which is superfluous in the flesh. So what is superfluous in the Spirit? The old Adam. And so at salvation, our old Adam is cut off, and it becomes a heart circumcision. And it�s that of the heart in the Spirit, and not in the letter, keeping the Law, whose praise is not of men, but of God.
Grace Is Not License
Les states plainly that grace is not license; it does not give believers freedom to do as they please but rather changes their appetites and their motives.
Paul’s Slanderous Accusers Condemned
Les explains that Paul was falsely accused of saying “let us do evil that good may come,” and that those who affirm such a teaching have their condemnation just.
Grace Greater Than the Vilest Sin
Les teaches that where sin abounded, grace did much more abound, and God is able to reach below the vilest sinner, lift him up, and make him a saint.
Grace Reaches the Most Vile Sinner
Les affirms that grace is not license; it is the attribute of God that can forgive, cleanse, and call righteous the most vile sinner who believes the gospel.
The True Nature of Grace
Les teaches that grace is the attribute of God that reaches down to a fallen, condemned creature and saves him on the basis of believing the gospel plus nothing.
Grace Evident From the Garden
Les shows that grace was already evident in the Garden, at the golden calf, and after Israel rejected the Messiah — underscoring that grace is God's character, not a license.
Sin As We Please? God Forbid
Les directly answers that grace does not mean we can sin as we please, citing Romans 6:15 with “God forbid,” and stresses that God's mind on sin has not changed.
Romans 6:1-2: What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
Paul poses the exact objection — shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? — and answers “God forbid.”
Romans 6:14: For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
Explains that being under grace means sin no longer has dominion, not that sin is permitted.
Romans 6:15: What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
Directly answers the question of whether grace permits sin with “God forbid.”
Romans 3:8: And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just.
Records Paul's rejection of the slander that grace means doing evil so good may come.
Romans 5:20: Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.
Shows that grace abounds where sin abounds — the premise some misuse to justify sinning.
Romans 3:9: What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;
Declares that both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin.
Romans 3:10: As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Quotes Scripture that none is righteous, no, not one.
No. Les Feldick is emphatic that grace is not license. It does not give us the freedom to do as we please, but rather changes our appetites and our motives. Romans 6:15 likewise answers the thought of sinning because we are not under law with “God forbid.”
Paul said their “damnation is just” (Romans 3:8). He identified this as a slanderous report of his teaching. Les Feldick points out that those who affirm that grace means we can do evil so good will follow face the same just condemnation.
Yes. Romans 5:20 says where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. Les Feldick teaches that God can reach below the vilest sinner and lift him up and make him a saint, yet he always adds that this is not a license to sin.
According to Les Feldick, grace changes your appetites and motives rather than giving you license to do as you please. Salvation comes by believing the gospel plus nothing, and God's mind on sin has not changed even though the believer is not under the Law.
Watch the Teaching: Why Even "Good People" Can't Escape God's Judgment — Romans 2