Cheap Grace – Part Two
(The lifestyle advocated in this post should not be understood as an effort to earn grace, but as a result of having already obtained grace. This lifestyle is not the cause of grace, but the consequence of grace, and cannot be lived without having obtained the grace to do it.)
As you read the following, remember they were written by a man who lived them so sincerely that the guards who brutalized him in a Nazi death camp came to love and admire Him so they offered to let him escape. He refused saying their lives and those of their families would be taken. After reading each quote pause and contemplate what you have just read and ask yourself what application you should make. The quotes do not propose “Cheap grace, grace without responsibility.
“Judging others makes us blind, whereas love is illuminating. By judging others we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we are.”
“When all is said and done, the life of faith is nothing if not an unending struggle of the spirit with every available weapon against the flesh.”
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.
“Earthly goods are given to be used, not to be collected. In the wilderness God gave Israel the manna every day, and they had no need to worry about food and drink. Indeed, if they kept any of the manna over until the next day, it went bad. In the same way, the disciple must receive his portion from God every day. If he stores it up as a permanent possession, he spoils not only the gift, but himself as well, for he sets his heart on accumulated wealth, and makes it a barrier between himself and God. Where our treasure is, there is our trust, our security, our consolation and our God. Hoarding is idolatry.”
“The will of God, to which the law gives expression, is that men should defeat their enemies by loving them.”
“Fruit is always the miraculous, the created; it is never the result of willing, but always a growth. The fruit of the Spirit is a gift of God, and only He can produce it. They who bear it know as little about it as the tree knows of its fruit. They know only the power of Him on whom their life depends”
“The messengers of Jesus will be hated to the end of time. They will be blamed for all the division which rend cities and homes. Jesus and his disciples will be condemned on all sides for undermining family life, and for leading the nation astray; they will be called crazy fanatics and disturbers of the peace. The disciples will be sorely tempted to desert their Lord. But the end is also near, and they must hold on and persevere until it comes. Only he will be blessed who remains loyal to Jesus and his word until the end.”
You have just read quotes demanding a behavior uncommon in our culture. How nearly are you willing to subscribe to the standards they set? They do not offer cheap grace.