Costly Grace v. Cheap Grace

Ames, Iowa

    So first off, I want to say I am sorry that it has been so long since I have posted last. When I was on my trip in California, I had a lot of free time to really sit down and talk about what has been on my mind. Once I got back home I started my summer class of Business Law, which by the way really sucks. I had a good time learning all the stuff, but I could never see myself doing business law for a career. There is so much you have to know and I would think there would be countless amounts of sleepless nights studying for the bar exam and preparing for court cases.
    Anyways, as I sit here in my sister and brothers house in Ames, Iowa, hanging out for the week, I brought a book to read so I could really get back into the habit of doing a daily devotional. At Baker, we have the infamous slap game, where if you forget to do a devotional for that week you get slapped. So guys get ready because I am coming back stronger than ever! Haha :)
    The book that I chose to bring and read was Dietrich Bonhoeffer's, The Cost of Discipleship. I am reading a chapter a day and in this first chapter I was really blown away about how he described the world as it was back in the early 1900's and how it is similar to right now in 2010. He talked about how some Christians today live off of cheap grace, where they believe they can sin as much as they wanted as long as they spend an hour or two out of their Sunday's to ask God to forgive them and then go on with there lives.

"Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate."


    As a Christian we should not be living our lives to conform to the world around us, but we should be living our lives in the light of Jesus. Living our lives with cheap grace is getting us no where! YOU AREN'T GAINING ANYTHING OUT OF CHEAP GRACE! Instead we should be giving our lives to God, so that we may receive the ultimate gift. Everlasting love from Him!

"Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock."


    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 in return. 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, and 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.
    Believing in God is just one step in the right direction, next you need to take a step closer by giving your life to God and keep repaying that price day by day and with that He will look down at you and love you like a son.

"Deceived and weakened, men felt that they were strong now that they were in possession of this cheap grace - whereas they had in fact lost the power to live the life of discipleship and obedience. The word of cheap grace has been the ruin of more Christians than any commandment of works."


    As you can see, Costly Grace v. Cheap Grace, costly grace wins every time. I you can think of anyone in this sort of view of Christianity, I challenge you to go out and talk to him/her about the true meaning of being a Christian is and describe to them how Peter left everything he did not just once, but twice to follow Jesus and live by his word.