1 Corinthians 7:23 “You were bought at a cost.”
The danger of receiving something for free is that you don’t value it. During the war out here, churches were looted for the metal sheeting that made up their roofs. Interestingly, where the sheets had been donated, the local population allowed the looting to take place; whereas where the locals had bought those sheets sacrificially, they resisted the looting. Unless you contribute to the cost of something, you don’t treasure it.
When it comes to our salvation, because we didn’t contribute to the cost, the danger is that likewise we can easily not value it. If that happens, the free gift is cheapened. Similarly it is cheapened if we reduce the gospel to forgiveness of sins only or limit salvation to personal fire insurance against hell.
David Pawson writes: “Salvation may be free, but it is not cheap, either for the Lord or us. For him, the cost was the death of his only Son on a cross. For us it is to take up the cross daily and follow him. So the entrance fee is nothing, but the annual subscription is everything.”
C.T.Studd understood that as he set off to lay down his life across the lake from where I am now. He reasoned: “If Jesus Christ is God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for him.” Free grace, but not cheap. Or maybe ‘cheap grace’ would be better referred to as ‘costly faithlessness’.
Have we lowered the bar and diluted the gospel? I fear we’re busy proving to the world that they can have all the benefits of the gospel without any inconvenience to their way of life. We can’t afford to craft ourselves a more comfortable cross.
Father, forgive me where I’ve opted for cheap grace. Fill me afresh with gratitude and zeal to live and work for your praise and glory. Amen!
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