Is salvation cheap?

1 Corinthians 15:1-2

“Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you – unless you believed in vain.”

9/7/21

Is salvation easy? Is grace cheap? In our modern mindset, the answer to these questions is “Yes!” With regard to the faith scripturally, the answer is “in a sense, yes, and yet in another sense, no!”

By this point, you may be thinking, “Jeff, can you straddle the fence any more than you already are?” Please understand that this is not fence-straddling, but coming to an appropriate understanding of the gospel. First, let us take a look to whom Paul is writing.  He had established the church in Corinth. Corinth was a sea-faring town, which for all intents and purposes was much like these here in the United States of America. Someone could come to the town being at the bottom of the social ladder, not having two cents to rub together, and through hard work, saving, and entrepreneurship become quite wealthy. They could be “self-made.”

Often, people tend to see material improvements to be blessings of God, which they certainly can be. However, they also can be testing of God to determine the mettle of the heart. Because of the influence of the society on the church, the church began to exhibit the character of the culture. Therefore, Paul had to remind the people in the church of the true nature of the gospel.

Salvation was not something they could earn, as the money which filled their pockets had been. No, this gospel (truly good news) was free – it is a gift. In this sense, it does seem to be cheap. Yet, Jesus offers that a king does not go to war without first considering whether he can win, and a man does not build a tower without first counting the cost to make sure he can complete it.

Now, let me return to the question, is salvation easy? Yes, in that it is free. No, in that we must give up all of ourselves for God’s use. When Paul stated, “unless you believed in vain” may also be translated, “unless you believed without due consideration.” Salvation is not “easy-believism.” One theologian stated it as: “If people profess to believe the gospel, but have not given due consideration to what that implies and what it demands, they do not really trust Christ.”

Grace is not without cost. Jesus gave up His life, as the one through whom the world was created, so that the world likewise through Him might be saved. To believe in Him is to give up ourselves… our will… to lay it down at the foot of the cross… to offer our bodies as living sacrifices. He said the world hated Him and therefore it will hate us.

This is not a works-based righteousness. For we are saved by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works. Instead, we are called to a works-response life… for Christ gave Himself for us, why should we expect to do anything less for Him?