Can We Talk About Grace Too Much?

Can we talk about grace too much? Has the evangelical church today emphasized the grace of justification so much that we’ve denied or at least undermined the necessity of sanctification? Or to put it more plainly: Does grace mean that I can be a believer in Christ but not a follower of Christ?

These aren’t just theoretical or abstract questions. In my experience, these questions are lived out daily in our lives. 80 to 90% of the residents in my community identify themselves as Christians. But as you dig into what that means, the lion’s share of folks are glad that their sins are forgiven and hope one day to get into Heaven. Salvation for our past and salvation for our future are glorious applications of grace. But what about grace for today? Right now? What about grace to follow Christ in the present? Does talking much about grace undermine motivation to follow Christ in the now?

To cut right to it, I do not think it is possible to talk too much about grace. However, what is possible is talking about a shrunken grace. Dietrich Bonhoeffer in The Cost of Discipleship called this “cheap grace”. He writes,

“Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our Church. We are fighting today for costly grace…Cheap grace means the justification of sin without the justification of the sinner. Grace alone does everything, they say, and so everything can remain as it was before. …Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the Cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”

We cannot talk too much about grace but we can be guilty of talking about a cheapened, shrunken version of grace. Grace as forgiveness of sins and entrance into Heaven only. But grace is so much more than this. Grace is not only justification it is sanctification. Grace of the cross is not only that the guilt of our sins is dealt with it also that the power of our sins is dealt with. In Christ we’ve been given grace for our past and for our future and also grace for our present – enabling us to deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Christ. (Luke 9:23)

Do we have to actually follow Christ to be saved? Can’t I get into Heaven without all this discipleship stuff? Perhaps. “Anyone who calls on the name will be saved.” (Romans 10:13) What is required for salvation? Repentance and faith. To acknowledge sin and turn from it and to transfer our trust from ourselves and the hardware of this world to Christ. We do not earn our salvation in any sense. Nor do we contribute to our salvation. Christ has accomplished it all. We are accepted in Christ and this acceptance is not contingent on our performance. If we transfer our trust to Christ we will be saved. This of course begs the question: Have you genuinely transferred your trust to Christ? Faith in Christ is far more than simply having convictions about Christ. Faith is knowledge applied. It is actually acting on your convictions, it is demonstrating in the day to day that your trust is now in Christ. And Jesus was clear – there is no better way to demonstrate our trust and love by actually doing what He commanded!

^ESV John 14:15 "If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

^ESV Luke 6:46 "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you?

I may say I trust my doctor, but if I don’t actually follow her advice in what sense can I credibly claim to trust her? Personally, I think we’re facing a credibility gap in the church today. We say one thing but do another.

Jesus told the woman caught in adultery: “Your sins are forgiven, now go and sin no more.” Faith and faith alone leads to salvation. But salvation does not remain alone – if it is genuine it is always accompanied by works. (Matthew 7:16; James 2:18ff) A.W. Tozer said, “salvation apart from obedience is unknown in the sacred scriptures.”

Can we talk too much about grace? No. If we understand that “Grace is opposed to earning not to effort.” (Dallas Willard) That is the rub. In the evangelical church we’ve misunderstood grace and presumptuously used it to justify avoiding serious sustained effort to obey Christ. But grace is not opposed to effort! In fact, Peter’s parting words to us were:

^ESV 2 Peter 3:18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

We are commanded to grow in grace. Grace comes only from God, but the responsibility remains with us. Unless God acts, you will not receive gifts of grace. On the other hand, God (ordinarily) will not act unless you do. It is disciples who grow in grace, not those who are just converts (‘forgiveness-only Christians’). The Apostle Paul says the same thing:

^ESV 2 Timothy 2:1 You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus

So let us make much of grace. But as we do, let us talk of a full-sized grace. Grace for both justification and sanctification. And let us personally examine and prompt others to examine whether our claims to trust Christ are credible. For as Bonhoeffer said, for the Christian “so far from dispensing him from discipleship, grace only makes him a more earnest disciple.” So let us make a sustained effort to follow Christ, placing ourselves in the posture necessary for the grace of God to grow in our lives.