Cheap Grace — Paul Washer

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Paul Walsher starts preaching about 11 minutes into this service.

God in heaven, you are worthy to receive all praise and all honor and all worship from now on until eternity. We call upon your name at the beginning of this gathering. And we thank you for all that you have given us.

In the proclamation of the gospel, in the meeting with each other, above all, by meeting yourself. We thank you for wanting to be here. And that you want to make us aware of the secrets of your kingdom.

Lord, that you want to make us aware of the treasures of the gospel tonight. And that you want to make us aware of who we are and what our origin is. And that you are the great holy God, who descended so low, and who gave the dearest of what you had and revealed it to us.

We thank and praise your great name for this. And we pray for you tonight. May this change our lives for the first time to the image of your Son, Lord Jesus Christ. And may we go home as people who have had a life meeting with you.

Open our hearts to your word. And open your word to our hearts. So that we will see no one else tonight than Lord Jesus alone. You know our thoughts. You know what is going on in us. To joy and to sorrow.

But you want to take everything away, because your word will have its course. And you too will receive all honor and glory tonight. Bless our brother as he again may pass on the message you have laid on his heart.

Cheap Grace and the Evidence of True Conversion

Touch him with a call from the altar, because his words will be not of human wisdom, but in expression of spirit and strength. We pray this in the name of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Tonight we want to think together about the theme of cheap grace, the greatest threat to contemporary Christianity.

I would like to read a few verses from the first letter of the Apostle Paul to the town of Thessalonica. 1 Thessalonians 1, we read 8 verses from it. We start at verse 2 and read through to the end of the chapter.

1 Thessalonians 1, from verse 2. We thank God always about you, your thoughtfulness in our prayers, without ceasing remembering the work of your faith, and the work of your love and the tolerance of the hope of our Lord Jesus Christ for our God and Father.

Knowing, dear brothers, your choice of God. For our gospel has been among you not only in words, but also in strength, and in the Holy Spirit, and in much certainty, just as you know how much we have been among you for your sake.

And you have become successors of the Lord, and have taken up the word, in much expression, with the joy of the Holy Spirit. So that you have become examples to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.

For from you the word of the Lord has become audible, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in all places your faith that you have on God has gone out, so that we do not need to speak of it. For they themselves proclaim of us how great an entrance we have to you, and how you have turned to God from the abject, to serve the living and the mighty God, and to expect his Son from heaven, whom he has raised from the dead, namely Jesus, who will deliver us from the coming torrent.

If we think about the cheap grace that is the danger, the threat to contemporary Christianity, then it is very remarkable that Paul writes to the town of Thessalonica and that he is grateful for that town and for what may happen there.

He is grateful. Why is he grateful? Well, the Gospel has given strength, and they have taken up the word of God, and it has renewed their lives. It is very clear that they have not become followers, but verse 6 says that they have become successors, and that is what it is all about.

The message of the Gospel has given strength in their hearts, and their lives have indeed changed radically. Yes, it goes so far that they have become role models, not only for the community members among themselves, but even for the surrounding towns.

There was good news from the believers, and those brothers and sisters did not remain independent. It was not that they said, well, you have to accept Jesus, then you are kept, and then it is arranged for the rest of your life.

No, they were given to make, it also says that they have taken up the word, in a lot of oppression, but they remained firm to the word of the living God. So it was not a rejuvenation, and they did not get it for nothing, that it was all about following Jesus Christ.

And it is important that we realize that tonight. We become holy at the expense of another. The Gospel is not offered to us all, and we may accept it out of grace, but when it comes to following, about discipleship, about being a follower of Jesus, then it costs a price, and that price is your own self.

And the question is, if we tonight, not only know Jesus as our Savior, as our Redeemer, but that we also accept Him as our King, as our Lord, as the One who has the power in all areas of our lives. And it is very remarkable what we read in the last two verses, in verses 9 and 10.

Paul is a witness of three things in the town of Thessalonica. The first is that the town has turned from the abject to God. They have turned 180 degrees, their sins forgiven, the abject said farewell, and are going to lead a new life.

And that is the second thing he says, that they are going to serve the living and the mighty God. Their life was servant to the work in God's vineyard. And the third, that they expect His Son from heaven.

Three things. They have turned from the abject, they are going to serve the Lord in the practice of every day, and their life is stamped by the expectation of the coming of the Lord Jesus in heaven. And Paul can, for these three things, the town, he thanks the town that God has brought it this far, and that it stamps their lives.

And it is also for us, as a foundation, we have only one desire, and that is that these three important things, that Paul brings forth in verses 9 and 10, are the only reason for which we can be grateful.

That if the word, which will be brought this weekend and next week, renews our lives in such a way that we turn away from the abject, that we in the practice of every day show that we serve the living and the mighty God, and that our lives are stamped by the expectation of the Lord Jesus in heaven.

And that results in that we lead a dedicated life, and that we, no matter what it costs, want to follow in his footsteps, and want to make the image of the Lord Jesus so public in the world of every day.

And then the gospel may, yes, then the gospel will also cost us something at the moment that these three things are also practical for you and for your life. We will hear more about this tonight, but I wanted to give you these three principles from 1 Thessalonians 1.

Tonight I have been asked to speak on the subject of cheap grace. How many of you are familiar with Diedrich Bonhoeffer and his book that refers to cheap grace? Okay, many of you. Let's go to the Lord in prayer.

Father, I come before you and I pray that you would speak to us through your word. Lord, there are so many needs, and yet you are able to multiply bread to feed the multitude. Father, I feel like a man who goes to his neighbor's house and says, I have guests, but I have no bread to lay before them.

Please give me bread. Father, there are many people here, and in my weakness I feel that I have very little to lay before them. So I pray that you would give me bread, that bread would multiply, your people would feed and be strong.

Lord, bless this service and do in it what you would desire to do. In Jesus' name, Amen. As always, it is a great privilege for me to preach to you and share with you from God's Word. Although with those lights up there, I feel like I'm preaching to a train.

Bonhoeffer's Cheap Grace and the Doctrine of Regeneration

Diedrich Bonhoeffer talked about cheap grace. And improper or superficial response.

To what Christ has done for us.

He looked at the church of his day and saw that they were not walking in true discipleship. He saw cheap grace. Or that people were treating it cheaply.

I have read his book, and I agree with a great portion of it.

But I believe that Diedrich Bonhoeffer missed the point. He looked at the church of his day and saw that they were not living for Christ. But he made a wrong presumption. He assumed that the institution called church was actually a church.

He did not see that just because someone professes Christ, it does not make them truly a Christian. He was not looking at Christians who were not following Christ. But he was looking at people who were professing Christ but were not actually Christian.

And that brings us to the subject of regeneration. When someone is truly a Christian, they have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit. They have become a new creature. And they will live a new way. Those who have believed in Christ will continue to be sanctified by Christ.

They will continue to be led by Christ. They will continue to be transformed by Christ. One of the problems I have with many of the missionary statistics in Europe and the West is that they simply assume that everyone who confesses Christ is Christian.

They assume that every institution that calls itself a Christian church is actually a church. But they are wrong. If it does not act like a Christian, it is not a Christian. If it does not have the characteristics of a church, it is not a church.

There have been many churches planted throughout all of the West. Some of them were planted 100 years ago. Some 200 years ago. And when they were planted, they were vibrant, living churches. But that does not mean that they are still a church.

Even in Asia Minor, Jesus warned the churches. Only a few decades after His death and resurrection, He warned them that if they were not careful, He would remove His candlestick from them.

And on doing that,.

They would stop being a church. In the United States, there are churches everywhere. But are there truly churches everywhere? Just because there are churches just because there is a building with a cross on top of it, just because the people sing hymns, it does not mean that it is a church.

It takes much more than just a name. So when we look at the world today, and we see many, many churches going astray, and we see many, many people confessing Christ and yet not living like Christ, we need to realize that not everything that is called Christian is truly Christian.

Let me give you an example. Several years ago, I was listening to an apologist. Very well known. And he said this, we've got to do something with the Christian youth.

We've got to do something with the Christian youth.

Because we have done a survey and found out that 75 of the Christian youth do not believe that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is important. But this apologist, made a terrible error. If those youth do not believe the resurrection of Christ is important, they're not Christian youth.

Because you cannot be Christian and deny the resurrection. You cannot be Christian and deny the Bible. You cannot be Christian and fully embrace liberalism. And you cannot be Christian and live like the world.

The New Heart Promised in Ezekiel

Now why is that? This is not my principal text, but I want us to go for a moment.

To Ezekiel 36.

Verse 26. What has happened to a person who truly believes? What happens when someone actually, truly, genuinely becomes a Christian? We see here in verse 26 of chapter 36. God says, moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

I will give you a new heart.

And put a new spirit within you and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

This is not empty poetry. He is not speaking an empty metaphor. God means what He says here. When someone truly becomes Christian, they have been regenerated by the Spirit of God. And what does God do to them?

He takes out their heart of stone. That wicked, fallen nature that hates God. That stony heart that cannot respond to God. He takes it out and replaces it with a heart of flesh. A heart that will respond to Him.

That will hear His call. And that will follow Him. That's why you must understand that conversion is more than just a person making a decision. It's a supernatural work of the Spirit of God whereby the very heart of a person is changed.

Let me give you an example. If Oscar was a statue of stone, I could kick him. I could punch him. I could pinch him. I could scream at him. And what would he do? Nothing. Because he's stone. Stone does not move.

It does not hear. It does not respond to any stimuli whatsoever. But he's not stone. He's flesh. If I punch him, he will respond. If I pinch him, he will respond. He will respond to stimuli because he is living flesh.

That's what God does when He saves someone.

He takes out that unresponsive heart and puts in its place a heart that will respond to Him.

Not only that, in verse 27, He says that He will put His Spirit within a person. He says, I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.

Now what's amazing here, if we combine Ezekiel's words with the words of Jeremiah in Jeremiah 31, we can learn the following. In the New Covenant promise of Jeremiah, God says that He will teach His people, that they will all be taught of God, that they will all know Him from the least of them to the greatest.

So when God saves a man, He takes out His heart of stone that cannot respond to God and He puts in its place a heart of flesh that will respond. And then as He says in Jeremiah, He will write His laws upon the heart of that person.

He will teach each one of His children through a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. And He will put His Spirit within them and He will cause them to walk in His statutes and they will be careful to observe His ordinances.

That is why if we see a church full of people who treat grace as cheap, who treat it as superficial, who do not follow Christ and do not care to do so, then we are seeing a church full of lost people.

A church full of people that have not been regenerated.

By the Holy Spirit of God.

Perseverance, Sanctification, and the Marks of a True Christian

Because every true child of God will follow Him. Now before we go to our main text, let me explain something very important. This does not mean that the true Christian never sins. It doesn't mean that the true Christian never has a dull heart.

It doesn't mean that the true Christian will never stray. But what it does mean is this. The true Christian.

Is a new creature.

And although they are susceptible to sin, and although you will see weaknesses in their life, you will see in them a person who has been changed. And a person who continues following after Christ. And a person that when they hear the voice of Christ through the preaching of the Word, they desire to follow.

The Gospel as God's Power for Salvation

I want us to turn to Romans chapter 1 verse 16. For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Let me say this.

Paul's flesh had every reason to be ashamed of the Gospel. Because the true Gospel of Jesus Christ contradicted every philosophy and thought of this age. If you are going to identify with Jesus Christ, you are going to put yourself in a place where you are going to have to suffer shame.

We live in a world that hates Christianity. That mocks the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And a world that hates anyone who seriously seeks to follow Jesus Christ and proclaim His Gospel. There was a time when the West was a stronghold of Christianity.

But that is no more. Every year it is getting darker and darker. And the opposition against Christianity is getting stronger and stronger. And if you are going to follow Jesus Christ, in these next few decades, you must prepare yourself to suffer shame.

You must prepare yourself for persecution. And possibly in many forms that you never dreamed. Just look around you. Look at what is going on. The noose is closing in around our neck. The rope is closing in around our neck.

They are passing laws all over the place about hate crimes. And all kinds of laws are being passed.

About hate crimes. Yes. Hate crimes. That if you say certain things, then it is said that it is hateful and then they put you in jail. In different places in the western world preachers of the Gospel are put in jail.

Only because they said that homosexuality.

Is a sin. If you faithfully proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and you faithfully try to point out the sins of men who are dying without Christ, you could go to prison. If you try to evangelize other religions, you could go to prison.

If you say someone else is wrong, you could go to prison and suffer great shame.

That is something of the world that the Apostle Paul lived in.

And that will be something of the world that we live in in just a few years. Are you truly Christian? Will you follow Him?

Will you proclaim His name?

Will you rebuke the nations for their sin? Even though it costs you your job? Even though it costs you your family? Even though it costs you your freedom? Even though it costs you your life? Ten years ago, I never would have thought that I would deliver a message like this.

But look around you. As laws are being passed to silence Christianity,.

Laws are being passed that lead to Christendom being. When they silence us, or they attempt to, realize this.

There will be a whole group of people that are called Christians who have no problem with the world. They will continue on in their churches. And they will have a friendship with the world. Because they have denied Christ.

And because they have compromised the principles and the commands of Christ. So when you are persecuted,.

It won't be as Christians, but as extremists. As fanatics.

And even the supposed Christians will rise up against you.

In order to save their own necks.

I remember during the war in Peru. One pastor in Peru got up to share with the other pastors. And he said this. Brothers, it has been appointed unto us to suffer. And I am telling you the same. And you are going to have to make a decision.

Are you really going to walk with Christ? Are you really going to proclaim his name? Or will you compromise? Paul's flesh had every reason to be ashamed of the flesh, of the gospel.

Because his gospel contradicted the world. And if you make a stand and preach the same gospel,.

Your gospel will contradict the world. And because of it, the world will hate you. But fear not. For Christ has overcome the world. Now we still have freedom. While we have freedom, we must work. We must preach the gospel.

We must pray. Maybe the time of judgment will be delayed. And God will give us more time to work. Don't waste your life. If you're a young person and you know the Lord, then serve Him with all your heart while you still have strength and you still have freedom to do it.

As Paul said, for I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God to everyone who believes. The gospel is the power of God. What will change a man? The preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

What will bring revival to a nation? The gospel of Jesus Christ. Don't rely on something else. Don't rely on eloquent words. Don't rely on evangelistic programs and missionary strategies. Open your Bible and preach the gospel.

Because only the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Now it's the power of God for salvation. What does that mean? That the gospel will justify you? That through the gospel you can be saved? That through the gospel you can miss hell?

So you don't go to hell. Yes. But it means much more than that. You see, when we talk about salvation, many times we only think in one tense. We only think of one aspect of salvation. Justification. But the gospel is not only the power of God to justify us.

It is also the power of God to sanctify us. And to lead us on to glory. Salvation is in three tenses. Past, present and future. Past tense. God saved me. He saved me from the condemnation of sin. Present tense.

He is saving me from the power of sin. That is sanctification. And future tense. He will one day save me from the presence of sin. The evidence that you have truly believed the gospel unto salvation is that the God who saved you continues to save you.

The God who saves you continues to transform you. The moment I believed.

I was justified and freed from condemnation. But the moment I believed.

There was the beginning of a progressive salvation. God sanctifying me, changing me, making me holy. And that work will continue in me until I go home to glory. How do you know that you've been justified?

It's because the one who justified you continues to sanctify you.

The one who saved you from the condemnation of sin.

Is working in your life to save you from the power of sin. That as you walk with Christ through the years of your life he works in your life to make you more and more conform to his image. And so we have the old principle that sanctification is proof of justification.

Is that a reality in your life? Since you have professed Christ as your Lord and Savior can you see him working in you and changing you?

Is he teaching you? Leading you?

Blessing you? Disciplining you? And doing whatever it takes to make you like him? Is that a reality in your life? Or are you a person that simply one time in your life you said you believed and you prayed a prayer but since then nothing's happened?

Are you truly Christian? Are you truly following him?

Repentance and Faith Grow Through Discipleship

Now let's talk for a moment about discipleship. Every virtue in your life is progressive.

Every virtue in your life is growing.

For example in order to be saved I repented and believed. That repentance that saved me it wasn't the repentance of a mature Christian. It was genuine but it wasn't the strong repentance of a Christian of 25 years.

My faith in Christ that saved me was not a mature faith. It was not a strong, mature faith of a believer of 25 years. It was small, it was weak but it was genuine. But over the years as I began.

To walk with Christ.

That repentance became deeper and that faith became stronger. Now one of the reasons I'm telling you this is because of what I've heard from you as I've been counseling. Many of you have sat with me for hours saying, I want to be saved but I can't be saved.

You say, I'm sorry for my sin and I'm repentant but I don't think my repentance is pure enough.

I've heard you say, I believe in Jesus but I don't think I'm saved because I don't think my faith is strong enough. I've heard you say, I believe in Jesus but I don't think I'm saved because I don't think my faith is strong enough.

Now listen to that. That's wrong.

It's not necessary.

That there is a great repentance or that there is a very special repentance.

It takes genuine repentance and genuine faith to be saved. Repent. Believe. And then as you grow in the Christian life your repentance will become deeper and more mature. And your faith will become stronger and more dependent upon Christ.

Basically I've had people tell me in this conference the following. My repentance and my faith is not as deep and strong as the greatest Puritans who ever walked on the planet and therefore I can't be saved.

Do you see the contradiction? If a grain, faith the size of a mustard seed will move a mountain what must you do to be saved? Believe. Receive. Cry out to Christ in faith and He will save you. And if He does save you then He will begin to work in you and your repentance will deepen and your faith will grow stronger.

I repented of my sins and believed the gospel about 26 years ago. I repented and I thought my repentance was so deep and so strong but now after 26 years my repentance is much deeper and much stronger.

My repentance back then was like the repentance of a child. I saw some of my sin I repented of it but now after 26 years I see much more of my sin. I see it in a clearer light and my repentance is deeper.

I believed the promise of God.

26 years ago and Christ saved me.

But that faith of a child over the years has grown and grown and grown so that I have much more assurance and strength in Christ. When I first trusted Christ as my Savior I believed that I was depending totally upon Him.

But over 26 years that dependence has grown stronger and stronger. This is what it means that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. You repent and believe and God continues to work. Deepening that repentance.

Strengthening that faith. Making you more holy. Drawing you closer to Him. Breaking off the things of the world so that they no longer hold on to you.

Is that what God is doing in your life? Can you see God working in your life? Then that is a great sign that God has saved you.

Receiving Christ as Savior and Lord

I want us to go to John chapter 1. Verse 11. And 12. He came to His own and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him to them He gave the right to become children of God even to those who believe in His name.

What does it mean to receive Christ? There is a form of evangelism here in Holland and in the United States that goes something like this. Do you know you are a sinner? Do you know Christ died for you?

Yeah. Do you want to go to heaven? Yeah. Well then, do you want to receive Jesus? Yeah. Well then repeat this prayer with me and Jesus will come into your heart. I hope that you reject that kind of evangelism.

What does it mean to receive Jesus? Paul tells us in the last part of verse 12. It is to believe in His name. It is to believe in everything He says about Himself.

It is to believe everything He says about Himself.

It is to believe in His person. Depend upon His work. And trust Him as Savior. And Lord. To open your life to Him. That He might be your Savior. That He might be the Master of your life. Now I want you to listen to an illustration.

Imagine that there is a city of people a group of people in a huge walled city. And they are all in there behind the walls because there is an enemy coming. Who is going to destroy them all. But before the army arrives a great king comes to the door or the gate of the city.

And the great king says open the door. And I will save you from the approaching army. But when I come in I will also reign over you as king. That's the way Jesus approaches the heart. That's the way Jesus approaches the sinner.

Destruction is coming. And He says I can save you. And so the sinner throws open the doors of his life. But Jesus says wait.

If I come into your life I will save you. But I come in as king.

And when I come in I take over. You come down from the throne.

And I go up there. You're no longer king. I am. Now I want you to look at something very important about what it means to receive Jesus.

Look at verse 11. He came to His own and those who were His own did not receive Him. He came to His own things or He came to His own people. That means that the Christ came to the Jews and they did not receive Him or welcome Him.

Now I want you to think about something for a moment. What was the Jewish concept of the Messiah? Did they believe that He would be a Savior? Yes. But they believed something else. Even more important.

Or gave greater emphasis to it. The Messiah was the son of David. And He would not only deliver His people but He would take the throne of David. He would be king. The Jews not only rejected Jesus as Savior.

But they rejected Him as king. And that is why they said we will have no king over us but Caesar. There is a belief today that you can believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and not Lord and still be saved.

But that is a lie. The Jews rejected Him as Savior and they rejected Him as Lord. If you are going to receive Him to open your life to Him you welcome Him as Savior and you welcome Him as Lord. He does not make any compromise.

But now what does it mean to have Him as our Savior and Lord? Well, it depends where you are at in your Christian walk. When I first came to know Christ like any other believer I said, Jesus is my Savior.

Jesus is my King. I did not have a clue what I was saying. My knowledge of what that meant was so small. Twenty-six years later when I say Jesus is my Savior.

It means a whole lot more.

But also twenty-six years later when I say Jesus is my Lord it means a lot more. When I first became a Christian very next day I went out into the streets preaching. I thought I was John the Baptist.

I thought I was the holiest man on the planet. I thought I was totally submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. I did not know what that meant. But over twenty-six years He began to teach me. It hurt.

It was a battle. More and more coming to understand what it meant to be a disciple of Jesus. More and more God revealing parts of my life.

That were not submitted to His Lordship.

Little by little having to surrender more and more of my sovereignty to Him. Little by little I have given more of myself.

And I have learned to give more and more to His Lordship in my life. And if I would be preaching here twenty-six years from now.

I will return to this sermon.

And I will tell you this. I didn't have a clue what it meant to have Jesus as my Lord and Savior. You see.

Some of you you can't even begin to think that God might save you because your repentance and faith isn't as strong as the greatest Christians who ever walked on the planet. I want you to see that in salvation both repentance and faith begins very meager, very small.

And as God saves you He begins to deepen and strengthen and grow your faith and repentance so that one day you may have the faith and repentance of one of the great Puritans or one of the great Reformers.

Christ Is Not an Accessory but the Believer's Life

To receive Christ is to take Him in as your sustenance. Let me give you an example from the West. From Europe, from the States.

And even from South America. I have seen this over and over. People take Jesus into their life as an accessory.

Like when your wife buys a dress and you think to yourself she only spent this much money. Oh, that's good. But then she tells you she also had to buy shoes to match the dress. Okay, okay. And then she tells you she had to buy a purse and a belt.