Cheap Grace

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried, therefore, with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. Romans 6:1-4 ESV

The term “cheap grace” was coined by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor and theologian. He argued that those who ask God for forgiveness without any commitment or visible change in their life ‘cheapens’ the cost of Jesus’ death on the cross. He maintained that when we truly grasp the cost that God paid to save us, it results in a life that is changed and marked by obedience, sacrifice, and genuine transformation. 

The Book of Romans spells it out quite clearly. How can we claim God’s grace and forgiveness—knowing what it cost Him—yet continue to deliberately sin? When we fully grasp the extent of God’s grace and the price Jesus had to pay to redeem us, it is truly life changing.

“Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our church, “ wrote Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Because biblical grace is more than transactional, something dispensed on Sunday mornings through the sacraments – it is transformative. It becomes more than something we receive. It becomes a living and breathing embodiment of who we are in Christ.

Prayer: Lord, may I never grow Inured to your forgiveness and grace. Though it cost me nothing, it cost you everything. Thank you for taking my sin upon you at the cross, for paying the price for my redemption. May your praises ever be on my lips, both for who you are and for everything you’ve done. In your name, we pray, Amen.