True Disciplehship Doesn’t Come Cheap, but It’s Not for Sale
Yesterday, I saw on ESPN that the man in New York who caught Barry Bonds record breaking home run ball sold it at an auction for over $750,000.00. It sold well over its projected $500,000.00. This ball was obviously no average baseball. This was the ball that broke a long standing record of career homeruns held by the legendary Hank Aaron. I couldn’t help but compare this news to my supplemental devotional reading, in which I have been re-reading one of the great Christian theologians, Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship. In his book, Bonhoeffer casts a light on two polarized views of grace. He descriptively detailed the grace in which God provides for us, and the grace which we all too often give ourselves. Bonhoeffer called the concept of the grace which we provide ourselves, “Cheap Grace.” It’s cheap because it has no value. Just as it cost money to purchase anything of value, things that are freely given, are typically void of any value after you read the fine print. However, anything we purchase of great value, most often comes at a high price. This is also true of Bonhoeffer’s concept of “Costly Grace.” “Costly Grace” comes from Christ alone, and it comes at a price…It costs us our lives.
Let me clarify this further…
In Mark chapter eight, Jesus predicts His death for the first time, both to His disciples and others. He said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” Mark 8:34 (NIV). At its core, true discipleship comes at an extremely high price…The price is surrendering our whole life to Christ, dying to ourselves and our selfish ways, in order to have the full life which Jesus provides to those whom will follow Him. Factually speaking, true discipleship comes at a high price, but it’s not for sale! It comes by dying to ourselves and turning over our entire lives to Christ. Through this voluntary surrender, we are made new in Christ (1 Corinthians 5:17). Through “Costly Grace,” Christ adds completeness to our otherwise empty and depleted lives. However, in sharp contrast, lives in which we too quickly dispense to ourselves“Cheap Grace,” have no lasting purpose!
Bonhoeffer described “Cheap Grace,” as the “deadly enemy of the church.” “Cheap Grace” is grace without a price, and grace without a price is grace with no intrinsic or eternal value. Nevertheless, we readily offer ourselves “Cheap Grace” to validate our detrimental feelings, or to justify the sin in our lives. Unfortuately, people quickly provide themselves “Cheap Grace” to justify their sinful actions, behaviors, or attitudes, and thus they get caught in deception’s trap, in believing that it has value.
Just as Jim Collins wrote “Good is the enemy of Great,” “Cheap Grace is the enemy of Costly Grace” One comes free and has no redeeming value, while the other costs us our whole life. However, by losing our life, we find true freedom and our true identity in Christ!
I must confess that I struggle with providing my selfish and sinful actions with “Cheap Grace,” in order to justify my sin. However, instead of offering myself a placebo of grace, I need to get on my knees in my prayer closet and pray. I must seek God’s forgiveness through Jesus and take up my cross and follow Him. This is not something that is done on a weekly or even daily basis. No! We must die to ourselves moment by moment!
That is the true litmus test of authentic grace!
