Grace, God's Most Important Gift to Man Other than Life

Grace is God’s most important gift to man other than life that is. Grace is freely given but was so costly to God to give. The first taste of Grace was when God gave His own beloved son to die for the sins of the world. Jesus did not deserve to die upon the cross that day so many years ago. He was sinless. Yet honoring His Father’s wishes He was tortured and then made to die upon the cross like the thief beside Him. Three days later God raised Him to a resurrected life and Jesus sits at His right side even today. The whole reason that Jesus was tortured the way He was is that He alone bore all the sins from each of us that day. He was God’s gift to us, in a sense Jesus was grace poured out on us all.

Many theologians have discussed exactly what grace entailed. Does it cover our sins if we continue to sin? Does it continue to cover our sins if we are not repentant for those sins? How do we show Grace to others? This paper is going to discuss Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Costly Grace and John Wesley’s Means of Grace and how to apply their theology to everyday life in the present era.

Bonhoeffer says that there are two types of grace. There is cheap grace and costly grace. He says that cheap grace is the enemy of the Church. (Bonhoeffer 43). This is the grace most people think is God’s grace. It is grace that does not cost us anything. It means we do not have to repent for our sins. It means we do not have to ask for forgiveness not from God and certainly not from each other.

Christians today think that the debt was paid with Christ and there is nothing left that they need do. Christ calls for us to pick up our cross and follow him. He promises that He will be with us for the adventures that this life will bring but not that the trip ...

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... is an amazing thing to see God answer the prayers of a church that is focused on praying together for one another and for others. The Word speaks of Christians praying together, and talking of scriptures together.

Works Cited

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. "Costly Grace." The Cost of Discipleship. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1959. 43-78. Print.

DeWaay, Bob. "Means of Grace: God's Provision for Our Salvation and Sanctification." Critical Issue Commentary. 2007. website. 29 MArch 2014. .

Drum, Bary, Rev. "The Wesleyan Way: John Wesley's Understanding of Christian Discipleship." Ann Arbor: ProQuest UMI, n.d. print.

Vanderhart, Shane. "Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Cheap Grace vs. Costly Grace." 3 June 2010. website. 29 March 2014. .