I listened to a sermon by John Piper today, while exercising. He made a statement that hit home --He basically said
that a lot of us want the glory of Jesus but not the cross of Jesus.
I believe this is so true and true of me. Much of Scripture is not easy. There is a cross involved. Life is hard. ....and true discipleship is costly. It makes me think of the book by Bonhoeffer on the Cost of Discipleship--I keep going again and again to parts of this book!!
"Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our Church. We are fighting today for costly grace....Cheap grace means grace sold on the market like cheapjacks’ wares. The sacraments, the forgiveness of sin, and the consolations of religion are thrown away at cut prices....In such a Church the world finds a cheap covering for its sins; no contrition is required, still less any real desire to be delivered from sin. Cheap grace therefore amounts to a denial of the living Word of God, in fact, a denial of the Incarnation of the Word of God. ......Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”
The cross is costly and I suppose I am tempted to not want to bare the cross and I am tempted to want an easier road for fellow believers. This of course is wrong---grace is costly, because it comes at the expense of Christ’s death and as Bonhoeffer states , “Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life.”
Great post! I guess we all want the easier road at times. Thanks for the inspirational reminder.
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