Craig T. Owens

This is a weekly series with things I’m reading and pondering from Oswald Chambers. You can read the original seed thought here, or type “Thursdays With Oswald” in the search box to read more entries.

A Moral Lavatory

     The Bible does not deal with sin as a disease; it does not deal with the outcome of sin, it deals with the disposition of sin itself. … We have cheapened the doctrine of sin and made the Atonement a sort of moral ‘lavatory’ in which men can come and wash themselves from sin, and then go and sin again and come back for another washing. …

     All Heaven is interested in the Cross of Christ, all Hell terribly afraid of it, while men are the only beings who more or less ignore its meaning.

From Biblical Ethics

This hits me in two areas.

First, as a sinner saved by grace. I am so grateful for the gift of grace. I want to treat this gift with all of the gratitude I can. It was purchased for me with such a high price: The blood of the sinless King of kings. May my sin break my heart as much as it breaks my Heavenly Father’s heart. I’m grateful grace is there when I blow it, but I don’t want to blow it ever again.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer described cheap grace like this:

“Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the Cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate. … Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves.”

Second, as a pastor who teaches about the atonement and grace. I know that I will have to give account before God if the people who hear me teach about these gifts are ones who “ignore its meaning.” I want to do everything I can to make sure everyone who listens to me understands the inestimable value of the Cross of Jesus Christ.

In his book Costly Grace, Jon Walker writes:

“Costly grace justifies the sinner: Go and sin no more. Cheap grace justifies the sin: Everything is forgiven, so you can stay as you are.”

Grace is powerful stuff. May we always treat it that way.