God Put the “Zing” in Amazing Grace!

Life Around the Cross is Better!

One of my favorite quotes comes from Dietric Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship where he contrasted cheap grace and costly grace. Therein he wrote:

“Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal 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 gladly 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.”

In previous articles I have written about a new discipleship paradigm that I must confess is not new at all. Simple Discipleship is not a program, but it is a return to a biblical model of missional living in view of the cross of Jesus Christ. In fact I like to say “life around the cross is better.” It is living in full understanding of just how amazing grace truly is. Why do people today seem to be less responsive to the message of grace?

1. Entitlement mentality- Our society in America has bought in to an entitlement mentality. People seem to think they deserve everything and more. They tend to transfer this to their “religious” life in that they approach their idea of a supreme being with the attitude that says, “What are you going to give me today?” The health-wealth gospel (which is no gospel at all) has contributed to this. However, I think the transference of social and political entitlement movements are largely to blame. When it comes to God’s grace based on the sacrifice of Christ, we certainly don’t deserve it.
2. Cheap Grace- Related to my previous posted article, (http://drthomreece.wordpress.com/2008/08/18/what-is-your-cross-style/) Many people are essentially living only part of the Christian experience. A focus on church health while leaving out doctrinal health and integrity as a metric is a serious mistake. Chuck Lawless agreed in his book Discipled Warriors (p. 22). This was my motivation for creating an assessment survey with which churches may measure church health. Discipled Christians better understand the cost and value of God’s grace. Anything less is just religion which does not save.
3. The search for loopholes-Just as people search for every loophole they can find in the tax code, I think many search for them in God’s salvation code. While many non-Christians will acknowledge Jesus Christ as perhaps the greatest teacher who ever lived, the same people discard his exclusive statements such as John 14:6 (NKJV) Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. People often think, “There must be another way.” Again, loopholes and men elevated to god status are built upon cheap grace relying on gods of man’s own creation–loopholes.
4. The “I did it my way” mentality- I have officiated at two funerals during which Frank Sinatra’s song of that title was played. Of course I made it clear that while self reliance is admirable to the extent it is the opposite of entitlement, it will not get one close to heaven. This attitude is often simply a rebellious and stubborn spirit refusing to live life God’s way.

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