Avoiding Cheap Grace, Fighting for Costly Grace

I spent a good amount of time this week preparing to meet with the worship leaders at Christ's Church. We do this every three months or so to spend some time catching up, praying, working out scheduling, and discussing direction and new ideas. I love these meetings! One, because all of these leaders are great people and lovers of God, so I look forward to spending time with them. Two, because they often have different perspectives and ideas that are essential to giving us a direction that is more complete and balanced.

Something I wanted to discuss in this meeting was our continued effort to be intentional about the content of our worship. The phrase I've heard in many discussions and writings goes something like, "show me your songs and I'll tell you your theology." So the question we have to ask ourselves is, "What does the theological picture that we're collectively painting look like?"

One thing I wrote down on our outline in regards to content was "avoid enabling a concept of cheap grace..." This caught me off guard when I wrote it, because I hadn't been thinking of that term. I realized it would be good to get some definitions of what cheap grace. In my search I found some relevant excerpts from Dietrich Bonhoeffer's The Cost of Discipleship, and I share some of those here now.

"Cheap grace means grace as a doctrine, a principle, a system. It means forgiveness of sins proclaimed as a general truth, the love of God taught as the Christian 'conception' of God. An intellectual assent to that idea is held to be of itself sufficient to secure remission of sins....

Cheap grace means the justification of sin without the justification of the sinner. Grace alone does everything they say, and so everything can remain as it was before. 'All for sin could not atone.' Well, then, let the Christian live like the rest of the world, let him model himself on the world’s standards in every sphere of life, and not presumptuously aspire to live a different life under grace from his old life under sin....

Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession.... Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate. "

If you're curious about how he described "costly grace", click here. And if you'd like to learn more about Bonheoffer, I found his wikipedia page to be very interesting and inspiring, especially the part about his persecution and execution by the Nazi's.

Being Unprepared for Worship

During Pastor Darin's sermon at Christ's Church yesterday, he made an emphasis on Daniel's preparation for prayer in the beginning of Daniel 9, noting that it affected the way Daniel prayed, and most likely the way he was able to receive a response from God. Certainly something for us to reflect upon and model in our own prayer lives.

I've heard the same point about preparation made in regards to corporate worship. This is another short clip from Tom Kraeuter, where he speak to our unpreparedness in worship. I've heard this point about being unprepared for worship made many times, and have heard some of the same analogies that are made in this video clip. I think the point is that regardless of how many times we've heard it, we still need the reminder, I know I do.

Nigerian Churches Under Attack

(One of the beheaded pastors)

Nigeria: Pastors Beheaded

On July 26, 12 Christians were killed, including three pastors, in northern Nigeria after members of the Islamic extremist group Boko Haram launched attacks on police and government bases, according to contacts at VOM Canada.

The violence, which began in Bauchi state, spread to Borno, Kano and Yobe states. Churches were set ablaze and several people were abducted, including Christians. Many believers were threatened with death if they refused to convert to Islam. According to media reports, assailants behead three pastors: Pastors Sabo Yukubu, Sylvester Akpan and Pastor George Orji. The assailants were reportedly acting on the instruction of the extremist group's leader, Mohammed Yusuf. Yusuf was later killed by authorities.

The militants attempted to force the pastors to convert to Islam, but they refused to abandon their faith. They were then beheaded by guards who shouted "Allah Akbar" and fired several gunshots into the air in celebration.

These recent reports of persecution in Northern Nigeria reflect the trials believers endure. The Voice of the Martyrs actively supports persecuted believers in many ways through the Families of Martyrs fund, resources for widows to start businesses and a free education at Stephen Centre. Pray God will comfort the families of those killed in these attacks. Pray the peace of Christ will rule the hearts and minds of Nigerian Christians in the face of ongoing threats and danger.

The Cows Are in the Corn

A humorous comparison of hymns vs. praise choruses which should be appreciated by those of us who have had to deal with this particular battle.

Christus Victor and Martin Luther

I tend not to label myself or associate myself too closely with any one particular school of theological or denominational thought, political party, musical style, social class, etc. I don't usually have a problem admitting which of these I tend to lean towards, I just refuse to be categorized because I think it can cause us to live according to the constraints of those labels rather than in our identity in Christ alone. One particular label that I've never taken, though I'm sure many would claim I fit into, is being "reformed" in my theological views.

Martin Luther is known as the initiator of the Protestant Reformation. I won't get into it here, but in the past I had a very negative view of him. However, I'm starting to appreciate him more as a result of reading Christus Victor. Gustaf Aulen dedicates a whole chapter to how Martin Luther's writings were incredibly in line with "the classic idea" of the atonement, a rescue mission in which Jesus incarnation, life, death, and resurrection all played crucial parts in God's plan to set creation free from the curse of the fall and end the reign of the devil over mankind. Aulen made this point because many people who identify with being "reformed" think that Luther had a penal substitution view of Jesus' work.

Here's an excerpt from one of Luther's writings. Decide for yourself what kind of picture of the atonement he's painting, a rescue, or a legal transaction.

"What is it now to be a 'Lord'? It is this, that He has redeemed me from sin, from the devil, from death and all woe. For before, I had not yet had any Lord, nor King, but had been held captive by the devil's power, doomed to death, ensnared in sin and blindness...

...Now, therefore, those tyrants and gaolers are all crushed, and in their place is come Jesus Christ, a Lord of Life, righteousness, all good and holiness, and He snatched us poor lost men from the jaws of hell, won us, made us free, and brought us back to the Father's goodness and grace."

I found a couple more blog posts from people exploring the implications of a Christus Victor view, if you're interested. Click here. and here

Christus VIctor

I just finished reading the book Christus Victor. It was written by a Swedish theologian, Bishop Gustaf Aulen, and was originally published in 1931. So its not a new release, but a modern classic on the subject of the Atonement. The basic premise of the book is to show, through historical analysis, that the "Christus Victor" view of the atonement (also called the "classic idea") was the view held by the Apostalic Church and the early church fathers. Over time however, this view lost its place in the forefront of Christian theology, but has never been completely lost. I'd like to share a basic explanation of "the classic idea" of the atonement put forth by Bishop Aulen and then also give a brief description of the other two dominating theories he describes.

The Classic Idea

This is a very basic summary of the idea that Aulen calls the genuine, authentic Christian faith. I use a couple of quotes from the 2nd century church father Iraneus. God became man "That He might destroy sin, overcome death, and give life to man." "The work of Christ is first and foremost a victory over the powers which hold mankind in bondage: sin, death, and the devil." This perspective is entirely a work of God from beginning to end. In His love, God becomes man to do what was necessary to rescue us from the dominion of the devil, which we sold ourselves into through sin. Christ sets us free from the above mentioned powers, enabling us to be reconciled to Him, enabling us to be who He created us to be and usher in the restoration of the world He created. In this view, it is easy to see that His love exceeds His wrath. God is the reconciler (Jesus) and the reconciled (the Father who is in relationship with those who believe in His Son). The early church did not have a thorough doctrinal statement on this because it cannot be grasped fully in any way, let alone be worked out in a completely rational explanation. Thus it was communicated and grasped more through story, symbols, and imagery for centuries.

The Latin Doctrine

This theory is finds its first complete articulation in the work of Anselm of Canterbury during the middle ages (around 1000 A.D.). It is an attempt to wholly rationalize Christ's work and base it primarily on legal terms, because during those times, the concepts of love, passion, sacrifice were thought of as weak compared to rational and judicial terms. Terms you may have heard that are associated with this atonement doctrine are "Penal substitution" and "Satisfaction Theory." On a basic level this theory says, no man has performed perfectly according to God's law, so God demands a payment for it or else we go to hell. God sent His Son, as a man, to make the appeasement to God needed to keep us from hell. This then allowed Him to forgive us because Jesus had paid the price for our sins, as a man, to God. Since Jesus was the God=man who lived a sinless life, He produced an infinite amount of merit that could be applied to those who believed in Him. Many people who have heard this description of the gospel see God as a distant, bloodthirsty judge and Jesus as some sort of separate victim/mediator. In this doctrine, God's love is overshadowed by His need for "justice" (as defined in Middle Ages terms). Biblically however, we see that when God speaks of justice, it usually involves acts of mercy and making things right rather than making sure that people are punished to the fullest measure in accordance with their sins.

The Subjective View

Those who took issue with the "Latin Doctrine" developed a theory that more or less minimized God's hatred of sin and focused more on man's ability to be right with God if they would choose to live morally. Jesus was the perfect human example of obedience. By his example people can choose to turn their life around and go from being repelled from God's presence (because of their moral corruption) to being in good standing because their character and actions have changed and are now morally good.

Again, this is my feeble attempt to summarize the basic ideas of atonement that have remained since the resurrection of Jesus. If you're really interested in learning more about this, read Christus Victor. I also found a blog that has an extensive paper discussing this topic here, though I do not claim to agree with all the details, since I only speed-read through it.

So, which of these three views do you see being expressed in your church's worship content?

Which one do you see most clearly in the bible? Keep in mind all these ideas claim to have root in the scriptures.

Which one do you see prevailing in your own personal understanding/beliefs?