"Two of the most common of slanders, or slams, against the free gift of salvation and the simple requirement of faith in Christ are the belittling expressions "easy-believism" and "cheap grace." These denigrating expressions are often heard from ones who preach perversions of the gospel of Christ. They employ them to mock the idea that being saved can be as easy as the simple issue of faith makes it to be. Those that hear them are supposed to be impressed with the innuendo contained in the expressions, and they are made to think that the idea of free salvation is ludicrous. But, in truth, such expressions are only backlashes from the flesh nature of these false evangelists. They are expressions from their wounded fleshly pride and ego as they arrogantly take offence at the notion that they can't do something to justify themselves in God's sight. The flesh rejects and opposes the grace of the gospel in the first place, and pride is its grace-rejecting policy. In its pride the flesh spits out the foul taste of grace and expresses it through disparaging remarks such as these.
When examined in the light of the gospel these two expressions really fall into two separate categories of slander. The first --- "easy-believism" --- is just plain foolish slander. It foolishly speaks against what God so plainly declares. But the slam of "cheap grace" is abominable and God-insulting slander. It strikes out at the very character of God and declares that He Himself and what He offers is cheap. Only a highly offended flesh nature could express such things as this. Only one in full cooperation with the policy of evil, either by being one of Satan's false evangelists, or by being removed from the grace of Christ unto another gospel, could express such things as this.
"Easy-believism" is foolish slander because God Himself declares that that is just what He has made salvation to be --- something that is easy to hve because He offers it as a free gift and it is received simply on the basis of belief in Christ as one's completely sufficient Savior. When the apostle Paul warned the Corinthians about the tactics of Satan's policy of evil in their midst, and spoke to them about the ones who would be preaching "another gospel" and the like, he warned them that the "simplicity that is in Christ" was at stake and under attack.
"But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, SO YOUR MINDS SHOULD BE CORRUPTED FROM THE SIMPLICITY THAT IS IN CHRIST." (II Corinthians 11:3)
Everything that needs to be done for our salvation has been accomplished by God in the redemptive work of Christ on the cross. Every single thing necessary for propitiation, expiation, forgiveness, imputation of righteousness, and the like, was fully provided for and completely settled through Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. All the work of salvation; all the difficult things in providing for it; all the effort expending activities required to bring it about; were accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ for us. As such, nothing difficult, hard, or laborious either remains for us or is enjoined upon us. Instead, God offers salvation as a free gift of His grace; as something easy for us to have since all the work for it has been done for us by our Redeemer. Indeed, there is simplicity in Christ. Simplicity because every single work necessary to provide for salvation has been done for us by Christ, and because the salvation is received on the basis of simple faith in Christ as the all-sufficient Savior. "Easy-believism" is really what God has made the appropriation of salvation to rest upon. He's made it easy to have, with it being the free gift of His grace, and with belief being the sole requirement for receiving it. Therefore, when the expression "easy-believism" is spouted off as a slam against the preaching of faith in Christ as the sole requirement for salvation, it is in truth downright foolish slander. Few things are more absurd and foolish than to deny what God so plainly declares, and nothing could be more foolish than to slander the only hope of salvation. Easy-believism, in reality, is men's only hope of being saved. If God did not make it so that salvation was an absolutely free gift to us, easily received on the simple basis of faith in Christ Jesus as Savior, THEN NO ONE EVER COULD BE SAVED. Therefore, how more foolish could one's words be than to ridicule the only hope one has of salvation.
On the other hand, the slam of "cheap grace" is abominable, ungodly, revolting slander. By this expression the arrogant rejecter of the gospel looks at God, and what He so freely offers, and declares both Him and it to be cheap. This is because, in the expression, cheap is not an adjective that can be applied to the issue of grace, without at the same time being applied to God. Grace is part of God's attitude towards us, because God is a God of grace. Therefore, by the expression, God Himself is declared to be cheap. This is an abominable insult to God. His grace can be abounding, great, exceeding, manifold, and the like, but it cannot by nature be cheap. There is nothing in God, or that He ever does, that is cheap, worthless, vulgar, inferior, or paltry. The word cannot be associated with God, except by those who on the basis of their pride reject Him and what He offers. Only the pride of man can see anything cheap in, or about, God.
The abomination of the expression, though, goes beyond this. Since the word cheap cannot legitimately be applied to grace without implicating God, it must also be applied to what it is that He gives by His grace. Therefore, not only the gracious giver, but also His gracious gift, is being described as cheap. This, horribly enough, is just what this expression really does. It declares that God Himself is cheap and His gift of eternal life is cheap. The blasphemy associated with this is appalling. There is nothing cheap about God setting forth His only begotten Son as a propitiation for our sins, and there is nothing cheap about the gift of eternal life. Instead, both defy the ability of language and heart to express the glory and magnificence of them. Nor is there anything cheap about the capacity of God's grace in Christ to motivate a Christian to live a godly life. Hence, only a heart and mind distorted and corrutped by fleshly sinful pride could possess such a low opinion of grace and respond to the gospel of God's grace in Christ with such slander as contained in the expression "cheap grace."
These two slanderous expressions, and others of their kind, often team up with the various perversions of the gospel to help enforce the acceptance of the perversion for the truth. The policy of evil against the gospel truly has a ready and capable ally in the flesh nature of man. Not only does the flesh nature find the false gospel naturally appealing, but the flesh of those who accept it will also boast itself and express its disdain for God's grace with such slanderous remarks as these. Therefore, men's flesh will gladly cooperate with the policy of evil in the propagation of, and vouching for, the false gospel. Also, unfortunately, too many careless and assuming Christians also cooperate in this by simply parroting misstatements of God's requirement, and not being clear and plain in their preaching of the gospel of Christ."
I quote this, because I used to use these terms very lightly and very strongly. I looked at these two terms and what they said about me and I did not like them. I wanted it to be hard to believe, to be able to do something, some good works, at least something in order to receive God's salvation. I looked at both terms and thought that if my life is not producing a life full of a healthy, fruitful, spiritual walk then I saw myself as taking advantage of God, therefore meaning really His grace was cheap, because if it did not cause that fruitful life in me and I continued sinning and sinning and sinning it really was cheap, and how others would view myself in that I was saying, "continue in sin, that grace may abound". These things hurt my flesh and the pride therein, because in God's salvation there is nothing I can do to earn it or no works I can do to receive it.
I came to learn that God's grace is not cheap, sure it doesn't cost us a thing, it really doesn't and anyone who says anything different does not believe God's Word. It does not cost us a thing, but it cost God His Son, and Christ everything. I learned that even a man or woman who believes in Chrsit that He died for their sins, was buried, and rose again, and then lived a carnal life whether it be a worldly life in the flesh, or a religious (legalistic) life in the flesh, or even stopped believing in Christ all alone, that still God's grace is still not cheap and in fact it is so great and so awesome it will still save that person. God's grace still saves that person even if I I myself do not see the outward appearance of one's faith that so many people want to see, and nothing can separate that person from the love of Christ. Even if that person stops believing if they initially believed, Christ cannot deny Himself, the person is a part of His Body and all the cutting, slashing, and tearing of His Body happened at Calvary, it won't happen again. I am not recommending that we should live a life in sin and unbelief, because God's grace does teach us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, however I am recommending for believers new and old "as ye have received the Lord Jesus Christ, so walk ye in Him". Stop looking at your outward appearance, stop comparing your walk in Christ with others, stop trying to live under the law, but continue to walk in grace through faith as you initially did. I pray that we would get our minds and eyes off of ourselves, especially when it comes to "believing in Christ" and when it comes to "God's grace", although our flesh may view them as not easy or we do not want it to be easy, because that means all your work is in vain, or that your religious status is nothing in God's sight, but that God has made it easy for us in Christ, if He didn't like brother Keith said we would have no hope. May we not view God's grace through our own eyes and through others works or walk in Christ, but may we view God's grace through His eyes and through His work in Christ, that we may not condemn our brothers in the Body of Christ, but instead edify them in the strong grace of our almighty Creator as Paul did with the Corinthians, though they lived a carnal life, He stood strong that they were, "washed, sanctified, and justified" in God's sight. Lastly, I hope that we stop using these slanderous terms, because they blaspheme God and His work in Christ, but instead humbly hold these truths that it is easy to believe for salvation, not always after in sufferings, but unto salvation and that God's grace is in no way "cheap", highly expensive at the cost of His Son, and that salvation is still expensive at the cost of His Son even if that believer turns from God it still has sealed Him, even though that believer chose to suffer loss in heaven rather than in this life. God's grace and faith are compatable and it is these two truths that need to be presented to the world in clarity and in truth, not only for salvation, but unto sanctification.
In Him,
Josh Strelecki
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