Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a pastor martyred in Nazi Germany, in his seminal work "Discipleship" (1937), warns of the danger of so-called "Cheap Grace," a type of preaching that does not call the listener to repentance, to a change of life, to the narrow path and gate through which salvation is attained.
According to him, the term "cheap grace" thus referred to the idea that human beings receive salvation freely (which is correct), however, this gratuity only applies to the saved, because the price paid for salvation to be given freely to human beings was extremely high.
WHEN THE GOSPEL LOSES THE WEIGHT OF THE CROSS
American pastor Mark Driscoll, in a sermon about forgiveness, states that many people tend to believe that sin "isn't such a serious thing"... and use this to somehow "facilitate the granting of forgiveness.".
He emphasizes, however, that sin is something so serious that it required the death of God himself in the person of his Son in order to resolve it.
We see people today who actually think that way.
Who hasn't heard one of these expressions, or something similar: "A little sin here and there, once in a while, doesn't hurt"; "Only God can judge me"; "You sin too, you can't say anything about me," etc., etc., etc...?
This is a practical illustration of "cheap grace": mere knowledge, a simple declaration, but without any real change of life: since the debt before God is paid, some believe they can remain in sin, even though this meant that the divine blood of Jesus himself had to be shed on the cross so that humanity could be reconciled with the Father.
Therefore, many do not bother to change their lifestyle, seeking to live for the one who died and rose again for them.
And He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Him who for their sake died and was raised.
However, a "conversion" that does not produce a change of life, a preaching or teaching that denies that sin is really sin (or that diminishes its seriousness), in no way reflects the teaching of the Bible.
Eden and the Fall: Where Grace Began to Shine
Open your Bible to Genesis 3:1-19 And consider how sin is something so grave, serious, and monstrous, that disobeying the order not to eat a fruit brought all the misfortunes we see in the world today and would have plunged all of humanity into eternal damnation if God were not the pure expression of love and mercy.
Love and mercy, which were demonstrated immediately, with the promise of the coming of the Savior (verse 15...and in the prohibition of access to the tree of life. Yes, the expulsion from paradise was a harsh punishment for Adam and Eve and their descendants, that is, the entire human race (since paradise and sin cannot coexist), but not the fact that God took the tree of life out of their reach.
Then the LORD God said:
Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever— therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.
So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
God's mercy began to be demonstrated in the very fall of man, ruling out the possibility that, as we say in slang, "the cure would be worse than the disease": in the midst of the despair of knowing they were condemned to death, our first parents could have run to the tree of life and eaten its fruit, but that would only have worsened what was already bad.
When we read the verses mentioned above, we can see that if humankind ate from the tree of life, they would regain immortality (for the wages of sin is death, as seen in...). Romans 6:23), but he would not regain his state of impeccability: having sinned, he was no longer holy, and having become guilty, he was no longer innocent.
Therefore, if a human being ate from the tree of life after falling into sin, they would be condemned to live eternally in that same sinful state, something that God could in no way allow.
The grace that cost everything: to live for the One who died for us.
Thus, divine grace may indeed be freely given to humankind, but this does not mean it is "cheap," as many believe today: even if they do not recognize it, it demanded a price that God, simply because He is inconceivably merciful, decided to pay.
He demanded a payment that only God himself could make, and He did, in fact, make it, showing how precious His grace is.
For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase; but where sin increased, grace increased all the more.
That is why Paul, when mentioning that "where sin abounded, grace abounded all the more," is not saying that the more humans sin, the more grace God will give, but rather that the Creator had to grant a grace greater than sin so that it could be overcome!
This is so true that, immediately following the letter, in 6:1-4, He states:
What then shall we say?
Shall we continue in sin so that grace may abound?
Absolutely not. We who died to sin, how can we live in it any longer?
Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
Therefore we were buried with him through baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
This is recognizing the preciousness of God's grace!
Something so unimaginable and extraordinary that, as we can see in 1ˢᵗ Peter 1:12, Even the angels "yearn to fathom," meaning it is beyond even angelic comprehension!
Therefore, the call is for change, for a new life, and the reminder that such great salvation should not be neglected, under penalty of eternal damnation:
How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard him?.
The grace of God is, in fact, grace for humankind, but it was not, nor is it, for Himself, who gave up everything, incarnating Himself in the person of His Son and perfectly obeying the Law in place of fallen humanity, yet still submitted to a punishment that was not His, but that of sinners.
Therefore, let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
This grace is exceedingly precious, and although today the daily carrying of the cross is a burden (Luke 14:27This does not compare to the glory that the saved will receive in eternity.Romans 8:18), even though I don't deserve it.
In the Bonds of Calvary
ORIGINAL TITLEPRECIOUS GRACE
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Paraphrasing the apostle Paul in Ephesians 6:23-24May grace and peace be with us all who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, now and forever!
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