”Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man’ will gladly go and self all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble, it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.”(Bonhoeffer, ibid)

“Costly grace confronts us as a gracious call to follow Jesus. It comes as a word of forgiveness to the broken spirit and the contrite heart. Grace is costly because it compels a man to submit to the yoke of Christ and follow him; it is grace because Jesus says: “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Bonhoeffer, ibid)

“On two separate occasions Peter received the call, “Follow me.” It was the first and last word Jesus spoke to his disciple (Mark 1.17; John 21.22). A whole life lies between these two calls. The first occasion was by the lake of Gennesareth, when Peter left his nets and his craft and followed Jesus at his word. The second occasion is when the Risen Lord finds him back again at his old trade. Once again it is by the lake of Gennesareth, and once again the call is: “Follow me.” Between the two calls lay a whole life of discipleship in the following of Christ. Half-way between them comes Peter’s confession, when he acknowledged Jesus as the Christ of God….” (Bonhoeffer, ibid, p. 48)

“For Luther, ’sin boldly’ could only be his very last refuge, the consolation for one whose attempts to follow Christ had taught him that he never could become sinless, who in his fear of sin despairs of the grace of God. As Luther saw it, ’sin boldly’ did not happen to be a fundamental acknowledgment of his disobedient life; it was the gospel of the grace of God before which we are always and in every circumstance sinners. Yet that grace seeks us and justifies us, sinners though we are. Take courage and confess your sin, says Luther, do not try to run away from it, but believe more boldly still. You are a sinner, so be a sinner, and don’t try to become what you are not. Yes, and become a sinner again and again every day, and be bold about it. But to whom can such words be addressed, except those who from the bottom of their hearts make a daily renunciation of sin and of every barrier which hinders them from following Christ, but who nevertheless are troubled about their daily faithlessness and sin? Who can hear these words without endangering his faith but he who hears their consolation as a renewed summons to follow Christ? Interpreted in this way, these words of Luther become a testimony to the costliness of grace, the only genuine kind of grace there is… We Lutherans have gathered like eagles round the carcass of cheap grace, and there we have drunk of the poison which has killed the life of following Christ… What happened to all those warnings of Luther against preaching the gospel in such a manner as to make men rest secure in their ungodly living? …The word of cheap grace has been the ruin of more Christians than any commandment of works.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, ibid, pp. 56-59).

“Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ. It remains an abstract idea, a myth which has a place for the Fatherhood of God, but omits Christ as the living Son. … There is trust in God, but no following of Christ.” (ibid, p. 64)

“He wants to follow, but feels obliged to insist on his own terms to the level of human understanding. The disciple places himself at the Master’s disposal, but at the same time retains the right to dictate his own terms. But then discipleship is no longer discipleship, but a program of our own to be arranged to suit ourselves, and to be judged in accordance with the standards of rational ethic.” (ibid, p. 66)

“If we would follow Jesus we must take certain definite steps. The first step, which follows the call, cuts the disciple off from his previous existence. … The first step places the disciple in the situation where faith is possible. If he refuses to follow and stays behind, he does not learn how to believe.” (ibid, pp 66-67)

“Jesus prays to His Father that the cup may pass from Him, and His Father hears His prayer; for the cup of suffering will indeed pass from Him—but only by His drinking it.” (ibid, p. 101)

“God speaking to Luther: ‘Discipleship is not limited to what you can comprehend—it must transcend all comprehension. … Not to know where you are going is the true knowledge. My comprehension transcends yours. Thus Abraham went forth from His father… not knowing whither he went. … Behold, that is the way of the cross. You cannot find it yourself, so you must let me lead you as though you were a blind man. Wherefore it is not you, no man… but I myself, who instruct you by my Word and Spirit in the way you should go. Not the work which you choose, not the suffering you devise, but the road which is clean contrary to all you choose or contrive or desire—that is the road you must take. To that I call you and in that you must be my disciple.” (ibid, pp. 103-4)

I also think that I will start following your example of writing out the scripture references I use on my blog so that the people reading it actually also encounter the Word of God. I’m sure that 90%, if not more, of my readers do not take the time to look up the verses I refer to in my posts. And for the unbelievers who read blogs such as mine, yours, and many others, including the written Word is an absolute necessity.

Thanks for the encouragement….

It blesses me so much to know that you have been impacted by the articles God has placed on my heart. Thank you so much for your comment. I’m sure that there are quite a few things we would disagree on. That’s OK though. Remember, it’s not our doctrine that saves us. It’s the blood of Jesus Christ.

Now, typically I wouldn’t mind conceding and “agreeing to disagree” with you. However, I believe very strongly about this one. You see, the Law of Almighty God is the forgotten key to biblical evangelism. Around the turn of the twentieth century, men of God stopped preaching the Law. Psalm 19:7 says, “The Law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul…” Why is that? Because it is the Law that brings conviction.

When you say “that we must repent in tears, weeping and mourning”, why is it that we are weeping. Is it not over the enormity of our sin? 2 Corinthians 7:10 says, “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” Godly sorrow is when we are sorrowful over how our sins have hurt God.

Think of this. Jesus Christ lived an absolute perfect life. He never did anything wrong. Never did he do a single thing which merited for people to even be angry with Him, let alone crucify Him. However, this perfect Lamb laid down His life so we might live. As He was nailed to that old rugged cross, as he hung there naked and beaten to a pulp, all of the sin of the world was laid on His back. He became sin. He paid our fine. A fine we could never pay. And as He hung on that cross the full force of God’s wrath came down on Him, causing Him to cry out, “Father, why have you forsaken Me?”

Imagine that, Kurtis. He did all that for us. When I look at the cross, Kurtis, it makes me realize the enormity of my sin. I think we can minimize sin, by not making it personal. So many preachers today are wanting to minimize sin. Why? Because they don’t want to offend anyone. I would submit to you that this is simply not right.

Look at men like George Whitefield, Charles Finney, Jonathon Edwards, Timothy Dwight, John Wesley and many other men of old. When they preached, sinners would come so convicted over the enormity of their sin that they would weep like babies as if they were hanging over the very fires of hell. Kurtis, back then a Christian was much easier to find. The salt was truly salty. Why? Because, at the time of conversion, they were deeply hurt for how badly they offended a Holy God. Therefore, they lived their lives to glorify Him. Today, however, sin is no longer even called sin. We like to call sin “mistakes” or “bad choices”, minimizing what sin is. You see, sin separates from a Holy God. Isaiah 59:2 says, “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.” You see how serious God sees our sin?

Now, I do want to correct you on one of your statements. In your second to last paragraph you eluded to me saying that salvation is based on “feeling horrible”. Not at all, my friend. Salvation is only based on the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. And the gospel truly is “good news”, but it is only good news to those who realize that they need a Savior. And people won’t see their need to be saved until you shine the light of God’s Law in their eyes. Show them the Ten Commandments. For Galatians 3:24 says, “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” It is the Law of God that leads us to the good news of the Gospel.

Read this article written by Ray Comfort. He does a great job of better explaining this. And I would also recommend that you(and those whom you disciple) to listen to Hell’s Best Kept Secret. I’ll attach a link to the article and to the audio teaching.

Thank you so much for your comment, Kurtis.

article: http://www.christiananswers.net/gospel/passionofchrist.html
Hell’s Best Kept Secret: http://wayofthemaster.com/learntoshare.shtml

In Christian love,
Adam Tennant

You say that we get saved because we feel horrible over the enormity of our sin. I have agreed with everything else I’ve seen on your site here besides this. Thank you for your ministry through this website. I’m sure your life reflects Christ.

I do want to say however, that if salvation comes by feeling bad then what kind of Good News is that? When I am convicted by God that what I am doing is wrong He often points out my sin gently – not in a way that would leave me devistated, but in a way that really encourages me to repent (or turn away from that sin).

I do believe that we must repent in tears, weeping and mourning what we have done. But if my salvation is based on feeling horrible for what I have done there is a definate problem there. The point of salvation is to be reconciled to right relationship with God – to be restored to the worshipping and loving creatures He made us to be.

I believe that our salvation is based not upon how horrible we feel that we’ve done something wrong, but rather upon whether we love God back.

That love for God may likely produce weeping and mourning for the things we have done to hurt him, but if we say our salvation is based on those tears then I think we have a problem.

If we say that our salvation is based on “feeling horrible” then I think Christ’s phrase, “Good News” makes little sense at all. If it is Good News then it is likely something to rejoice in rather than mourn over.

I would love to dialogue with you a little and hear your thoughts. Again, thank you for your ministry here online.

Grace and Peace,
Kurtis

If you are questioning your salvation, you have to ask yourself if you have repented of your sin(examine yourself using the Ten Commandments) and put your faith in Jesus Christ. You might have misunderstood the Scripture. When Christ asked His disciples to give everything up, He was asking them to surrender everything to Him. Does that mean you have to get rid of all your stuff? Absolutely not.

David, you do have to surrender all. You have to say to God “Everything I have is Yours. Use me however You will.” Do you understand? If I were to say that you have to give up everything you have, in order to be saved, I would be making salvation “works based”. But, once you are saved(I’m not saying you’re not) you should give up everything you have.

Email me if you would like to discuss this more. I’m concerned about your eternity.

And remember this, this will contradict how we think, but you don’t get saved because you want to go to Heaven. You get saved because you feel horrible over the enormity of your sin against God. Now, of course, the fear of judgment is a factor in your salvation, but the main reason should be asking forgiveness for sinning against God.

In Christian love,
Adam Tennant

http://ifmypeople.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=26

I am a believer in Jesus but I have not given up all my possessions to follow Him. I want to go to Heaven when I die and I want Jesus to call me one of Hs own. Do you think I will be able to be with Jesus if I do not give up everything and take up my cross daily? Thank you for your time.

I love Jesus but feel like I am not doing enough.

David
NC
USA