Grace Ain't Cheap

Grace:
"The empowering presence of God in my life, that enables me to be who God created me to be, and to do what God has called me to do."..........James Ryles.

II Timothy 2:1
You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace  that is in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 4:7
But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.

I fear that we have marked down for sale the things of Christ....
His mercy....
His love....
His compassion.....
His "GRACE!"
Like cheap wares at a flea market, we have brought them down to a level where they are doled out to anyone and everyone.
But didn't Christ die so that everyone could be brought to his mercy...his grace? Yes, He did.... So what's the problem?

Well, it goes like this:
A message of Christ's love and salvation is preached.
Sitting in the group is  person that is trapped and dying in sin/addiction.
He hears the message. But sometimes the way he translates it is that if he comes forward to receive Christ....then the pain will stop. Life will turn out better. He will be a better person. He will never struggle with anything anymore. 
To him, the only thing he has to do is go forward, acknowledge his need to be saved, pray with the preacher.......
And he is on the fast track to a new and better life.
Then days later, after having this experience, the person who went forward is dumbfounded to find that they are still craving drugs....
Dumbfounded that the legal system is still on their backs....
Confused because the preacher told them that life would be better.
So what is wrong?
Is Jesus a blatant liar when He extended the invitation to "Come unto Him all who are weary and heavy laden?" No, Jesus is not a liar.
The missing piece is discipleship.
The missing piece is discipline.
The missing piece is salvation without repentance and confession. Dietrich Bonhoeffer often referred to such as "Cheap Grace".

In Bonhoeffer's words:  Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ.
Grace is the force needed to break free from addiction.
Grace is a power and that power is provided through the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Grace is the Holy Spirit, given by God, to everyone who would believe and follow.
Given to guide us....
Given to teach us....
Given to lead us into a new way of living.
Grace is not given for us to continue in our old way of living, all the while thinking that we've done everything necessary to "Get into heaven".

Grace comes when we cry out to God..."Oh God! I am powerless. I am a mess. My life is evidenced by this. I have sinned and sinned and then sinned some more. I have hurt people and destroyed everything. I have sinned against You and you alone. I am in need of Your forgiveness and healing. Save me, Lord."
Such as this opens the door for God to flood you with His grace.
Drown you in His mercy....
And lead you out of darkness into the light of a new way of living.
Grace is given so that you can now address everything that comes your way. Every problem that rises up to stop you. Every situation, good and bad, that will come (and they will come).
What really happens when the Grace of God is given to an individual, is that they grow and mature in Christ, no longer tossed about by life.
And that is not a bad thing.

( I did not write this piece today so I can be some sort of Legalistic-religious police.
I wrote it because I'm tired of seeing people go the front and shake someone's hand, pray a prayer and then go away thinking I've done everything necessary.....let the good living begin. I'm tired of seeing disillusioned souls go right back out into the darkness of addiction and grow even colder and harder against anything to do with God. In their minds, the church has lied to them again.)
God on you...
mb