So many teachers and preachers today teach that the law is abolished by grace. They teach the lies of Satan as the traditions of men, but they say they teach the doctrines and commandments of God. Who or what are we to believe?
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.
The man of lawlessness is called the son of destruction. He opposes God at every chance he gets and leads the whole world astray. Even the term should identify that he is not of God.
Matthew 23:27-28 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. "So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
In Matthew, Jesus delivered 7 woes to the religious leaders in Judah. He called them sons of hell and condemned them to hell.
Matthew 23:33 "You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?
So what is lawlessness?
1 John 3:4 Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.
Sin equals lawlessness. Even in the court system, everyone knows that disobeying the laws gets you into all kinds of trouble, from misdemeanors to felonies, from fines to jail time, and all the way to capital punishment. We also know that ignorance of the law doesn’t remove us from the penalty of breaking the law. God’s laws and God’s punishments for all who disobey His laws are perfectly, justly, and eternally enforced.
1 John 2:3-5 By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: Commandments and the Law are synonymous terms for this explanation.
Grace does not mean abandoning the Law; it frees us from the death penalty of the Law. That is a monumental difference and a divine blessing for all who truly believe.