Cheap Grace

 For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Romans 15:5....."Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without repentance, baptism without church discipline, and communion without confession......The word of cheap grace has ruined more Christians than any command about works." Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The Bible, which is full of beautiful words, may contain none more beautiful than the word "grace." We can define it by theological terms like, "God's unmerited (undeserved) favor given to a sinful human race," but no definition, let alone any of our words used to describe or define can come close to the beauty of what His grace is. What we can know for sure is that His grace, freely given to all who will receive and believe upon His Son, Jesus Christ, will transform and bring us from the captivity of the kingdom of darkness and death, and into His Kingdom of Light and Life. By His grace we are made new, made whole, and taken into the fullness of His Holy Spirit. By His grace we are kept, sustained, and empowered all along the journey through this world and into eternity. All of that and more. As I said, no word can really describe the wonder of His grace. Perhaps the most beautiful aspect of all is that His grace is given to those who did not seek it, at one time did not want it, and made available by the sacrificial death and shed blood of His only Son, Jesus Christ. As Bonhoeffer, who was the first to use the term "cheap grace" has said, His grace is free, but it is not cheap. Yet a growing element in the professing church has been proclaiming it as if it is.

What has been an increasing element of "preaching" is what is referred to as "hyper grace." Grace so enhanced by men as to not only make it free, but costless. Costless not just to us, but Him as well. As Bonhoeffer said, "Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, without the cross, and without Christ." Cheap grace diminishes the sacrificial work of Christ on the cross. It diminishes the problem of sin, the death sentence the human race is under without the atoning death of Christ, the preciousness of His shed blood, and the cost, beyond any possible measure, to the heart of the Father in giving His Son, and the suffering of His Son Jesus in carrying out His Father's will. Cheap grace diminishes the reality of sin's power over fallen humans, as well as the call of God for us to live holy lives. It emphasizes our freedom, but thinks nothing of our responsibility, our calling, to live our lives for Him. It emphasizes the truth that we are not saved by works, but then denies that good works will be, must be, part of the witness we give of having been saved by the power of His blood and grace. It loves to present Jesus as the Gentle Shepherd who understands us so well, but not as the Warrior King who will one day return for a holy church and people. In short, it presents Christ as a Savior who really hasn't saved us from all that terrible of a fate, but does give us all we could desire in the here and now, and heaven to boot. He gives us everything, and requires little or nothing from us. Cheap grace, as Bonhoeffer points out, requires no confession, no repentance, and no real evidence of a consecrated and sanctified life. Best of all, the cross was what Jesus went to. It is not what we're called to as well. Cheap grace does not call us to be crucified with Christ, to die to our self-centered lives.

Pulpits in the west are filled with "preachers" who in some degree are proclaiming some part or whole of the message of cheap grace. It's a message that calls no one to "take up their cross and follow Him." It's a message that makes room for compromise with the world spirit, and even outright disobedience to His commands. It tells us that in the end, regardless of how we live, we are "saved by grace" and all will be well with us because of that. And all the while, we are blind to what a total insult that is to His holiness, His sacrifice, His love, and His grace. We don't just cheapen His grace, we cheapen Him.

So I close with just where might you, we, be living in some form of cheap grace? We have just spent several days remembering the agony of His death on a cross, the sorrow of His death and burial, and the glorious joy of His resurrection. All of which yielded the showers of His blessed grace upon all who will believe on Him. Priceless grace, freely given, but at a cost we will never understand. Where have we cheapened it? Will we go on cheapening it? Or, do we treat it as the treasure that no one can count? How we live will be our answer.

Blessings,

Pastor O