Nådens Mission

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,  who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works (Titus 2:11-14 NKJV).

Quite frequently I hear the term “cheap grace”. As far as I know and have understood the term has its origin from the German theologian, pastor and martyr Dietrich Bonheffer’s book “The Cost of Discipleship” from 1937. My thoughts here have very little or nothing at all to do with this admirable 1900s martyr. I am more speaking of today’s use of the expression “cheap grace”. This term is, as I see it, an oxymoron. What in the world does oxymoron mean, you might wonder. So here is Wikipedia’s definition: “An oxymoron or a contradiction is a word or concept that is composed of two elements that stand in opposition of each other or are evidently incompatible (“very little”, “deafening silence”)”

What does grace mean then? Wikipedia (I am consciously using a secular source to describe something that is understood even outside of Christian circles) says: “grace bestowed freely and unconditionally in order to lead people to salvation.” The free dictionary, Wiktionary, describes grace as “generosity or goodness without basis, which does not require reciprocity (countless)” Even these non-biblical sources seem to express something that is obvious, that is to say that grace, by nature, is free, unconditional and does not demand reciprocity.

In his letter to Titus, Paul speaks wonderful words about grace. He says, firstly (v. 11), that it is available to all people. We know, unfortunately, that not all accept the gospel, but the atonement includes all (1 John 2:1-2) and God shows no partiality (Acts 10: 34-35; Rom 2:11). Secondly (v. 12), the apostle says that “it (grace) trains us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions and to instead live decently, righteously and godly in this present age.” Unfortunately, many feel that grace does actually the opposite – it gives us an “excuse” to sin.

Thirdly (v.13), we understand that this earthly life is not our final destination. We wait for our blessed hope, the return of Our Lord Jesus Christ. There will come a day when we will get our resurrection bodies, the perishable body must put on the imperishable (1Cor. 15:53). Until that day, we are desperately dependent on God’s grace. Fourthly, “He offered himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works” His finished work has already taken care of our “iniquity”.

We see that there is a lot that grace provides, totally free and without our efforts. How can something that is free and without cost be “cheap”? It is in the highest degree an oxymoron, i.e. a contradiction. Grace is totally free and independent of our deeds and accomplishments, otherwise grace would no longer be grace (Rom 11:6). If we add good works, repentance of all known sins and the desire and commitment to follow Him as a condition for salvation, then we have to pay for that which is free, namely salvation (Eph2: 8-9). Instead we see that these things are, rather, the result of correctly understanding grace. It is when we grow in the grace and knowledge of Him (2 Pet 3:18) that we become obedient to His teaching from a willing heart (Rom 6:17).

One can say that grace is extremely expensive – not for us, though, but for Him that paid the price, our Savior. God gave up the most precious that He had – His own Son – so that He would die for our sins (Rom 8:32). The price that the Son paid was his own blood (Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 1:18-19). Let us not diminish or distort that which is most central in the Christian faith – grace! That which was so costly for Him is free for us.

For many, this a hard pill to swallow. There is no room for boasting (Rom 3:27). In Matt 20: 1-16, Jesus gave the same wage to those that had worked one hour in the vineyard as to those that had labored for a full day. When they complained, he answered them: “Can I not do as I will with that which is mine? Or do you see with evil eyes because I am good?” What did those that came in the eleventh hour get? Exactly – they got grace. Can we imagine that those that were there many hours and thought themselves deserving of what they got muttered something about “cheap grace”? It is possible, isn’t it?

Also for many today, it is a stumbling block that God still gives freely that which no one can do with their own power, namely, declaring the sinner righteous (Rom 5:1-2). Let grace be grace and let it be defined by Him that gives it – the Lord Himself!