hand to hand combat

I grew up in this world. The world of cheap grace. Where the idea and concept had been emptied of all significant meaning . . . grace means less than nothing when all you have to do is walk to the front f the church and acknowledge the obvious . . . that I am a sinner. Can this grace provide the forgiveness of sin? Really? Dietrich Bonhoeffer believed that this was the ruin of most Christians, or wanna be Christians.

It’s the fatal conception of the double standard - the maximum or minimum obedience required . . . it is the idea of absolute obedience to Christ versus minimal obedience . . . it is the question of how far can I go away from the Faith and still be saved from eternal punishment? In other words are you and I using Grace in order to follow our own wishes but still be “Christian” or are we being used by Grace because we are giving all for Christ? As Bonhoeffer stated, “The only man who has the right to say that he is justified by grace alone is the man who has left all to follow Christ.” Bonhoeffer’s suggestion was that most of us use grace to as a means to not follow Christ . . . yet be forgiven in the end. Hmmmm.

In the end it seems that grace which is cheap is religious myth. Lets face it, most of us want to follow Jesus, but on our terms. I even heard a missionary I work with say, “If I had to do such and such, I would just go home.” And I have heard many “Christians” in the USA, say “I will do what Jesus says, but He knows how limited I am.” These are not the statements of disciples . . . these are the statements of people sitting in a grill ordering lunch! Its like they are saying, “I can “do” christianity, but only with limitations and only on these terms.“

Our German guide toward discipleship summed it up completely when he said, “only he who believes is obedient, and only he who is obedient believes.” Ouch . . . and ouch again. This is hand to hand combat christianity. I am not sure I am winning. It seems that in my day to day walk, my bondage to myself wins more often than not. Cheap grace again.