Ever since I was a child, I have heard the term “cheap grace” from my pastoral grandfather along with many others. Now in my year of returning to faith, I am once again confronted with the reality that faith comes at a great price.
We hear many voices in American Christian religious circles exhorting us that salvation and eternal life are a “free” gift from God. What was free about sacrificing his Son Jesus to pay the price for our sins and overcome the curse of mankind by conquering the grave and resurrecting to the right hand of God the Father interceding on our behalves for our sinful natures?
In my early years of faith and ministry, I proclaimed the “3 Step Plan of Salvation” to gain souls for Gods kingdom which simply exhorts us to acknowledge the existence of God, acknowledge we are sinners in need of a savior by accepting him into our spiritual lives, and then confess our faith to others. This appears so easy that it seems crazy that so few in our circles are professing or living this faith.
As usual, the childlike faith so many of us learned in church or elsewhere becomes complicated and blurred in light of our adult lives. We get educated in this secular world and start rationalizing everything in “our own understanding” to the point where many professed Christians no longer have a clear answer to what they believe or why.
It is clear to me that none of us are qualified to judge who is “saved” or who is not. We believers are not put here to condemn the world or those around us. Our only command is to love God and love each other as we love ourselves. It sounds so sweet and simple…if only it could be.
What comes to me now from the Bible is that faith requires REPENTANCE for our sins. When Jesus healed people, he often told them “go and sin no more”. In some cases, he said, “give away all your things and follow me”. I think it is quite evident that a small minority of believers or followers were able to fulfill his commission on their lives.
When we talk about the love of God or our love for each other…the Bible is not talking about an emotional, cushy, feeling kind of love. What God demands is sacrificing love. He doesn’t give us faith in order to possess God or his love. He gives us faith in order to do the work of love…towards God and man. “No greater love has a man than to lay down his life for another”. God’s love for us was shown in his sacrificing his Son to suffer and die on a cross in our place. This was a huge sacrifice of eternal significance. Why should we think that God’s call to his followers to love would mean anything less than sacrifice and preference of others over ourselves?
There is no such thing as cheap grace folks. God’s grace and forgiveness of us came at a terrible price and was set up throughout all of human history, from the Old Testament prophets and kings through the New Testament apostles and early church…many of whom were crucified or beheaded for their faith and love of Jesus Christ. The “dance” between fallen man and Gods’ judgment and forgiveness has been going on since Genesis.
In modern times I can think of no greater example of the cost of faith than Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the famous German pastor/theologian who stood up to Hitler and the Nazis for his beliefs even when the mainstream churches of Germany both protestant and catholic “cut deals” with that evil regime. He was killed at age 39 by the regime for his refusal to stand down and for speaking against their perpetrated evils.
“Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession…Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.
Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble; it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: “ye were bought at a price,” and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.”― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship