About a week ago, as I was preparing my assignment on the subject of GRACE. I was requested to read an article at http:// www.cometochrist.org/grace.htm about “what is Grace?” It just a short message and filled with so much understanding on the word “Grace” which I feel as Christian we really need to look into when so much abuses have been going on to the grace that was given to us by our Lord Jesus Christ.
The message begins by introducing the life story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer from his book “The Cost of Discipleship.” He was one of the few Christians in Germany during the World War II that went against the Nazis because of the evil doings, and not because of other political reasons. He was later hanged by the Nazis as a traitor. This is not a story about this guy but about his ideas of cheap grace compares with costly grace that interests me. Like Dietrich Bonhoeffer said cheap grace is not about grace sold on the market like a cheapjack's wares or grace is a Christmas gift from Santa Claus, something just for us to “enjoy” with no need to think about responsibility. This triggers me to think about the true grace, this guy is talking about. It is a grace that is totally different reality—much more solemn, much more serious, and much more costly.
In my town, we have a church that gets some teaching from a Singaporean preacher by the name of Joseph Prince who teaches cheap grace. The cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring any repentance. Why, because Jesus Christ had died for us so we are totally forgiven. If we sin, just pray and we will be totally forgiven instantly. It makes me irk when I hear this. Honestly speaking I like to sin. It is always nice to sin because it makes me feel good. I like to hurt people that hurt me but it is not about Christianity. Jesus told us to love one another as He loves us. If I hate my enemy than if I pray to God for hating them and not loving them then all my sinful perception is forgiven. These sorts of commitment in Christian faith are like baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. It is a cheap grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate then I would rather be a Buddhist. I become a Christian because Christian is different and there is a cost to be paid.
When we talk about cheap grace, it is grace that is of little value. There is no discount in Christ’s cost. It closes the way to Christ and in many ways hardens our heart in our obedience in God. Our growth in Christ is without discipleship because we follow our own heart. There is not growth but just stops because we can always receive forgiveness for all our silly excuses. The ministry in Christ is so burdensome, the worship is so boring and demands our time, we need more leisure time, it does not pay well, and we let people push us around and many more reasons if I want to think more. I have always like the word "GRACE" and it pronunciations. Literally Grace means a kindness or blessings bestowed upon us that we have not deserved. We all really need to understand it in a Biblical framework. Grace to Christ is costly. As the author says grace is costly because He paid it with His own blood. He had to suffer for our freedom and redemption. It is not cheap and He demands serious commitment in our life in order to follow Him. It is costly because it condemns sin and grace because it justifies the sinner. We are brought with a price and with that costly price; God does not expect us to return with cheap grace.
We need to remember that under cheap grace our life as Christian comes to mean nothing more than living in the world and as the world, in being no different from the world. I know of a friend who is part time a preacher and secular working man. He will do all the sinful things of the world and yet serve God. His excuses are that we need to survive so it is okay to have one foot on the world and another in heaven. It sounds so cheap but this is what we human are made of. Out of these experiences I ask myself have cheap grace become the source that we use to arrive at the deceptive conclusion that self sacrifice, surrender of personal desires and laying down your life for the brethren and the church are vestiges of a bygone era? Is it a grace that has set you free to seek your own purposes at the expense of the Kingdom call to true discipleship? That is why we need to think or study of grace in order to understand the true perspectives of grace.
In conclusion, I would encourage anyone to visit this website because it gives us a brief understanding of what grace is all about. Is grace cheap or costly? What it means to be a followers of Christ and the commitment in the standards of His teachings. The story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer is not his idea of "cheap grace," it explains not merely the hollowness of German Christianity of his time where they took on the cheap grace in order to escape persecution, but that of all Christianity it is for today and future to come.
The message begins by introducing the life story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer from his book “The Cost of Discipleship.” He was one of the few Christians in Germany during the World War II that went against the Nazis because of the evil doings, and not because of other political reasons. He was later hanged by the Nazis as a traitor. This is not a story about this guy but about his ideas of cheap grace compares with costly grace that interests me. Like Dietrich Bonhoeffer said cheap grace is not about grace sold on the market like a cheapjack's wares or grace is a Christmas gift from Santa Claus, something just for us to “enjoy” with no need to think about responsibility. This triggers me to think about the true grace, this guy is talking about. It is a grace that is totally different reality—much more solemn, much more serious, and much more costly.
In my town, we have a church that gets some teaching from a Singaporean preacher by the name of Joseph Prince who teaches cheap grace. The cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring any repentance. Why, because Jesus Christ had died for us so we are totally forgiven. If we sin, just pray and we will be totally forgiven instantly. It makes me irk when I hear this. Honestly speaking I like to sin. It is always nice to sin because it makes me feel good. I like to hurt people that hurt me but it is not about Christianity. Jesus told us to love one another as He loves us. If I hate my enemy than if I pray to God for hating them and not loving them then all my sinful perception is forgiven. These sorts of commitment in Christian faith are like baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. It is a cheap grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate then I would rather be a Buddhist. I become a Christian because Christian is different and there is a cost to be paid.
When we talk about cheap grace, it is grace that is of little value. There is no discount in Christ’s cost. It closes the way to Christ and in many ways hardens our heart in our obedience in God. Our growth in Christ is without discipleship because we follow our own heart. There is not growth but just stops because we can always receive forgiveness for all our silly excuses. The ministry in Christ is so burdensome, the worship is so boring and demands our time, we need more leisure time, it does not pay well, and we let people push us around and many more reasons if I want to think more. I have always like the word "GRACE" and it pronunciations. Literally Grace means a kindness or blessings bestowed upon us that we have not deserved. We all really need to understand it in a Biblical framework. Grace to Christ is costly. As the author says grace is costly because He paid it with His own blood. He had to suffer for our freedom and redemption. It is not cheap and He demands serious commitment in our life in order to follow Him. It is costly because it condemns sin and grace because it justifies the sinner. We are brought with a price and with that costly price; God does not expect us to return with cheap grace.
We need to remember that under cheap grace our life as Christian comes to mean nothing more than living in the world and as the world, in being no different from the world. I know of a friend who is part time a preacher and secular working man. He will do all the sinful things of the world and yet serve God. His excuses are that we need to survive so it is okay to have one foot on the world and another in heaven. It sounds so cheap but this is what we human are made of. Out of these experiences I ask myself have cheap grace become the source that we use to arrive at the deceptive conclusion that self sacrifice, surrender of personal desires and laying down your life for the brethren and the church are vestiges of a bygone era? Is it a grace that has set you free to seek your own purposes at the expense of the Kingdom call to true discipleship? That is why we need to think or study of grace in order to understand the true perspectives of grace.
In conclusion, I would encourage anyone to visit this website because it gives us a brief understanding of what grace is all about. Is grace cheap or costly? What it means to be a followers of Christ and the commitment in the standards of His teachings. The story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer is not his idea of "cheap grace," it explains not merely the hollowness of German Christianity of his time where they took on the cheap grace in order to escape persecution, but that of all Christianity it is for today and future to come.
