Cheapening Grace
Cheapening Grace
By Julia Maguire
"You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone." James 2:24
This Easter season, I’ve been reflecting a lot on God’s grace, what cost it came at, what it means to receive it, and what saving faith actually looks like.
I grew up in a Protestant church, became involved in Evangelical churches and church groups in high school and college, and have attended mainly Presbyterian churches ever since. So, since early on, I’ve seen that there are different emphases prevalent among Christians when thinking about saving grace.
Some believe good works are the motivating factor for their salvation, while others describe grace as a free ticket to heaven bestowed upon anyone who “accepts Christ into their hearts” by declaring that Jesus is their Savior. The latter view is strongest in evangelical churches, and it emphatically rejects the idea that good works determine salvation.
Of course, both views have strong textual support behind them in the Bible.
So then, by their fruit you will recognize them. Not everyone who says unto me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” Matthew 7:21
“And this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:22-23
“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you will; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” James 2:14-17
But I’ve increasingly come to see that when I embrace one of these avenues too completely, I cheapen God’s grace.
On the one hand, salvation based upon your own good works can lead to pride, superiority, and judgement. On the other hand, salvation based on words alone and no deeds (proclaiming you love Jesus and doing nothing of substance) can come from a place of fear, laziness, and selfishness.
What’s great is that God calls me/us out (clearly and harshly I may add!) on both of these tendencies of ours. When we’re feeling good about ourselves for doing praiseworthy acts of service, He says, actually you’re just as sinful as anyone else and would never earn salvation based on what you’ve done.
When we’re pursuing money, planning our next luxury vacation, and closing our eyes to the horror, oppression, and deep, violent pain in this world and doing nothing about it – He says, how can you actually claim to have faith and live this way? You claim to know me, but you do not actually know me.
In my own life, I have found the latter path most seductive. It is liberating to realize that nothing I can do will earn me salvation—Jesus did it all when he rose on Easter Sunday. But the desire to stop there, to “rest” in the knowledge that we need not be good enough, ultimately contradicts the clear weight of what Jesus taught and of how he and his disciples lived.
If you’re like me, and have readily embraced this version of free grace, without fundamentally transforming your life – without giving your possessions to the neediest, visiting those in prison, interceding for the persecuted – it’s worth reflecting about why that has happened.
It seems to me that the emphasis on grace without works ultimately comes from a place of fear – the fear that our hearts, as expressed through our lives, are not truly faithful. It is much more comforting to twist and turn the hard passages that clearly condemn cheap faith than actually confronting them.
God’s grace is free, but it isn’t cheap – God tells us it came at the steep cost of His only son. Why then would we convince ourselves that mere declarations and expressions of faith -- mere words or emotion -- would satisfy Him?
“God shows no partiality, but accepts from every nation the one who believes in him and does what is right.” Acts 10:35
These two ideas don’t need to be in conflict with one another – instead they are inextricably intertwined. Paul tells us we are saved by faith, and James shows us what saving faith actually looks like.
Faith isn’t saying “Jesus I invite you into my heart.” Jesus saves his harshest words for people who claim to know and love God but do not follow through with their actions.
While the Bible describes the gift of salvation as “equal,” it does not describe the kingdom of heaven that way. Jesus makes it abundantly clear that in the everlasting kingdom, rewards, even hierarchy, will instead be “recompensed according to our deeds on earth.” God doesn’t want us to be complacent!
True faith requires belief and action.
“But if someone who is supposed to be a Christian has money enough to live well, and sees a brother in need, and won't help him--how can God's love be within him? Little children, let us stop just saying we love people; let us really love them, and show it by our actions. Then we will know for sure, by our actions, that we are on God's side, and our consciences will be clear, even when we stand before the Lord.” 1 John 3:17
“Their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.” 1 Corinthians 3:13
So what does true faith look like? The Bible is clear that it is not common. It’s so rare that it’s safe to say that it looks quite different from how the majority of American Christians (including myself) live.
When I walk into a church that isn’t focused on fighting oppression or is only concerned with fighting oppression against Christians, I feel like Jen Hatmaker when she says, “the whole system seems poisoned, and I struggle to drink any of it.”
I see Christian public figures tweeting #persecutedchurch and #persecutedchristians when 43 Christians in Egypt are murdered by ISIS but are silent when the following week the same group murders 126 Muslim Syrians with a car bomb, as the civilians try to flee the country. Both are horrific atrocities and deserve attention, action, and prayers. But when one action incites more anger and calls to action than another, we should be critical of our biases in the good works that concern us. Doing good works for people who do good to us is meaningless to God.
“Even sinners love those who love them.” Luke 6:32
There is also a tendency for us to think that a faithful life involves saying #blessed when we ace a test or go on a beautiful trip, a tendency to use our Christian faith as a self-help tool rather than a tool to help others. We need to leave room in our hearts to embrace the beauty and joy in the world and of course use God’s teachings to help and improve ourselves. But, we have to guard against allowing that mindset to blind us to how we have ultimately oriented our lives around pursuing our own joy rather than fighting for the poor, destitute, and suffering.
What I pray, during this Easter season, is that we don’t let the comfort of Jesus’s resurrection make us complacent. The world is filled with immense suffering. If we aren’t actively fighting against injustice, or are just “flinging a coin to a beggar,” rather than truly delivering people from poverty and oppression, then what faith do we really have?
“You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God.[a] Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?” James 2:19
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