Monday, December 8, 2008

Wholesale Grace

The Lordship controversy has me pondering lately. This controversy is a teaching among Christians that one can be saved by the grace of Jesus without accepting Christ as Lord and God. This doctrine erases personal accountability. Grace has gone on sale to the lowest bidder and the best offer is the lowest amount possible, completely free. People desire to pay as little as possible and still receive the greatest reward possible: salvation in His Kingdom. The devil is cheapening Christianity and thus destroying the agency of mankind (Moses 4:3). If grace is God’s answer, the gift of a Christian life, then we cannot, for even a moment, dispense with following Christ; I must set out and live a Christian life. Cheap grace allows me to live a life of sin and be forgiven for free allowing one to cling to a secularized life and enjoy a Sunday sermon free of guilt or responsibility. The Christian life has come to mean nothing more than living in the world as the world, being no different than the world. In fact it seems that the Christian has been forebiden to be different from the world for the sake of grace. Therefore, cheap grace has become the bitterest enemy of discipleship, for true Christian discipleship has been eliminate in the name of economical grace. Discipleship must be a radical protest against the world. The only man who has the right to say that he is justified by grace alone is the man who has left all to follow Christ (2 Nephi 10:20).Those who use grace as justification from following Christ are self deceived. Acquired knowledge cannot be separated from the existence in which it is acquired.
Is there a more evil abuse of grace than to sin and rely on the grace which God has given? This apostate doctrine of “Pecca Fortiter” which translated means “sin without fear” or “sin bravely” is an old heresy that teaches the greater the sin the greater the forgiveness; thereby encouraging some to commit greater sins so Christ’s mercy might be magnified. True it is that the followers of Christ soon learn that they can never become sinless. But t grace is gifted to those who from the bottom of their souls make a daily renunciation of sin. Grace at a low cost brings neither help nor freedom. To pay for grace I must walk the road of discipleship that leads to a personal Gethsemane. While others swarm around the carcass of cheap grace and drink the free poison destroying discipled life. Cheap grace is truth perverted into self (deceived free salvation, a doctrine almost as damning as self -propelled exaltation) and the devil is happy as the world makes grace available on the clearance table of self indulgence. Those who are trying to follow Christ as true disciples are now labeled heretics as they try to follow Christ. By condemning the devoted they condone the deception. Wholesale grace is certainly not in line with the teaching of Christ that the path is “narrow” and “few there be that find it”! On the every broadening path of free grace salvation is becoming a courtesy ticket on a carnival ride. And cheap grace has shown to be merciless to the Christian world for with cheap grace comes free sinning. Partakers have become so hardened in disobedience that the no longer hear His voice, thus agency is destroyed, for they are no longer free to enter into His life and partake of His glory and goodness; they are only free to wallow in the mire of sin and degradation. Thus the devil has stopped the progress of many seducing them to the ordinary level of the world, quenching the joy of followership by leading them to believe that they were following the path of free choice but in reality destroying all we fought in heaven. Laying hold of cheap grace bars one from the joyful knowledge of costly grace. This is dangerous because deceived and weakened, men think they are strong and independent; but they have lost the power to live. The doctrine of cheap grace has been the ruin of more Christians than any act of disobedience.

10 comments:

cskelton said...

Wow! I love this writing, this is great insight from you. Thank you

Jessica Kunzler said...

COMMENT NUMBER 2 IS RIGHT HERE!!! You're getting a little closer to winning your brother! What happened to the rest of the class posting comments? ha ha just kidding! ~Jess K. B3 Good post by the way!

Jessica Kunzler said...

here's number 3!

Jessica Kunzler said...

and number 4...ok i'll be done now! ha ha

Steve Clark said...

Great topic! I guess I never saw how people take grace for granted like that. If you really think about it, sinning and not repenting of it is the same as taking for granted what Christ did for us. I like the blog. I'll keep reading!

Anonymous said...

I am reading a book right now that deals with this by clark pinnock. He addresses the fact that evangelicals have a tendency to be stingy with who Christ reaches in the world, but, even though Christ's atonement is infinite, doesn't mean He offers it freely, as you said. Thank you for this, I am going to use it if it is okay with you.

Bryan said...

Some great comments for Latter-Day Saints. The Atomenment is incomprehensible to mortals. Those who do not believe in Christ will be "saved" according to the traditional Christian definition of the term "saved." When we think of being saved we think of the Celestail Kingdom, but when most Christians define the term "saved" they describe one of the lower kingdoms. They are right, they are just not aware that there is something beyond being saved, their definition does not account for the last few rungs in Jacob's Ladder.

Whitty said...

This is a really good topic Brother Skelton. I agree with Steven I never thought about how much people take grace for granted. Your topic makes me think about so much more then I have noticed possible. Great Job!

Unknown said...

Hey there Brother Skelton. I happened onto this blog via your sweet mother who left a comment on mine! I have been wanting to talk to you and Laura. I hope you don't mind if I follow your blog now that I've found it. You do have great insights. I heard about your dad and I have wanted to see you and give you a big hug. I am so sorry. I would love to see your boys all grown up. Mine are getting old too! Lots of love to you and your fam,
Viki Bailey

Bria said...

Wow it really makes you think. This is great stuff. Thanks