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Christians point people to Christ What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. — Romans 6: 1-4. Cheap grace is something we often talk about in the Lutheran Church. What do we mean when we talk about cheap grace? Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran Theologian, who was martyred during World War II, explained it as "the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession . . . Cheap grace is grace without discipline, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate." — The memoirs of Bonhoeffer, page 47. Many of us are guilty of this. We think that all we have to say is that Jesus died for our sins and that we are free to continue sinning. We do not have to take any responsibility for our sins because they are covered in the blood of Jesus. In the above text, the apostle talks about what we may refer to as cheap grace. It is true Christ Jesus came to earth to be a propitiation for our sins, or stand in for you and for me. What He did and gave to us is a gift. When we refuse to take responsibility for our sins, we are then taking that Gift from God and throwing it back in His face. We do not show any appreciation for the vicarious act of our Lord and Savior. The incarnation and the cross means nothing to us. Research shows that many children get into trouble in order to determine whether their parents love them. They keep getting into more trouble just to prove their parents love. "Will they come this time? What will happen if I were to do something more dreadful than the last? Will they still love me?" That is trying to prove love and get more love by doing wrong. That is not the way God's grace works. When we come to faith, He calls us to live out that faith. The apostle tells us that in coming to faith, "We died to sin." When we die to sin, we make a complete turn around in our lives. The text admonishes us, "How can we live in it [sin] any longer . . . Don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ were baptized into his death? In our baptism, God called us by name. "I have summoned you by name; you are mine." — Isaiah 43:1. If God says that we are His, then we are. There is no need to prove that, because God's Word does not need to be tested. As Christians, Jesus calls us to live out our baptismal faith. The grace, which we abuse as cheap, is in fact very costly. Bonhoeffer writes, "Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it cost a man his life and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns, and is grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son." Therefore, as Christians, we can't continue sinning or living as the world does and think that God's grace will abound simply because we call ourselves Christians. We are in the world, but not of the world. Christians point people to Christ. The way we live is what the world sees. We are an example to the world. Therefore, we do not continue to sin in hopes of getting more of God's love. We live out our baptismal faith. Rev. Samuel M. Boodle, pastor at The Lutheran Church of Nassau, can be reached at P.O. Box N 4794, Nassau, Bahamas or telephone 323-4107. Thursday, January 14, 2010