In grace we find the freedom and power to overcome sin, through the death of Jesus and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.
Far too often we think of grace as being cheap, and easy to acquire. When faced with sin, we sometimes justify it by telling ourselves, “I have received grace, and even if I sin this ‘one’ time, in the end I still have my salvation.” This is not a new concept, for as we see in the letter from Paul to the Romans written nearly 2,000 years ago, he addresses this issue. Anticipating the question that would come, Paul writes, “What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!” (Romans 6:15) We often cheapen the grace we have received, but seldom do we remember what it cost.
In addition, we sell this “cheap grace” off to other people, in an effort to convince them to commit their lives to Christ. We tell others that through Jesus you can be redeemed of your sins (which is true), but we reduce the great cost that was spent to purchase the souls of men. A quick side note - I do not want this reproof, of both myself and whoever reads, to lessen the amount we share the good news of Jesus Christ. On the contrary, my prayer is that as we understand the great cost of the grace we have received, we would be all the more prone to share it with others.
Pastor Timothy Keller, of Presbyterian Redeemer Church in New York, often discusses this “costly grace” we have received. If you would like to listen to him expand it further, listen to the discussion he has with D.A. Carson and John Piper on youtube, titled “A Conversation: Tim Keller, John Piper, D.A. Carson.” The three discuss the gospel, and the multiple ways it works in our lives. Keller explains that the grace we have received cost Jesus Christ his life. The very blood of God was shed to purchase our souls. This is not a cheap grace, but a very costly grace. When we recognize the great cost, it significantly increases the witness we have to others, and gives us a more accurate and bold proclamation of the Gospel.
In addition, it transforms the way we deal with sin. When we remember what it took to redeem our souls, we are empowered to conquer sin through the Holy Spirit. “[God has] forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:13-14). It was Jesus’ blood that canceled our record of dept, and it was a costly price. The grace we have received, the reality of our forgiveness and the value of Christ’s shed blood empower us to overcome sin. No longer does cheap grace justify our sin. Rather, costly grace conquers our sin.
“As we struggle to put to death our subtle sins, we must always keep in mind this twofold truth: Our sins are forgiven and we are accepted as righteous by God because of both the sinless life and sin-bearing death of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no greater motivation for dealing with sin in our lives than the realization of these two glorious truths of the gospel.” - Jerry Bridges (Respectable Sins, pg. 48)
