The Obligation of Freedom

We live in an age of cheap grace.  Eric Bonhoffer, the German churchman who defied Hitler and died a martyr, spoke of this kind of grace.  He said,

Cheap grace means grace sold on the market like cheapjacks' wares. The sacraments, the forgiveness of sin, and the consolations of religion are thrown away at cut prices. Grace is represented as the Church's inexhaustible treasury, from which she showers blessings with generous hands, without asking questions or fixing limits. Grace without price; grace without cost! The essence of grace, we suppose, is that the account has been paid in advance; and, because it has been paid, everything can be had for nothing. Since the cost was infinite, the possibilities of using and spending it are infinite. What would grace be if it were not cheap?...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.

Our Evangelical world loves to speak of God's grace today and the extravagance of Christ's love for His children.  But His children often bask in the glories of this grace but offer little response in genuine Christian service. Paul spoke of this when he wrote a letter to the Galatians in AD 49.

For you were called to freedom, brothers.  Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.  (Gal 5:13)

Paul challenged the church at Rome in a similar way when he asked,

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? (Rom 6:1)

Cheap grace reminds me of the entitlement mentality of our generation.  We have millions of people in our country who actually believe their welfare depends upon the generosity of other taxpayers rather than on themselves.  In some cases this may be true, and we welcome those exceptions, but that should not become a mindset of the culture at large.  

As Christians we can make the same mistake.  The abundance of God's grace can sometimes lure us into apathy and abuse rather than love from a grateful and giving heart.  Paul's answer to his rhetorical question is yet another rhetorical question.

By no means!  How can we who died to sin still live in it?

The answer to that question is simple, we can't continue to live in our old sin!  Because we have died with Christ on His cross, we must now live in the power of His resurrection!  Christ's death for us was more costly than we can possibly ever fathom on this side of eternity.  One thing is for sure.  His grace is not cheap.  It is free, but that freedom came at an eternal price that only Jesus could pay when He died for our sin on the cross.  Consider the obligation of your freedom in Christ today as you enjoy His grace.