Cheap Grace vs. Costly Grace - Part 2
Friday, May 29, 2026
“No sacrifice which a lover would make for his beloved is too great for us to make for our enemy.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Here is the “flip side” of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s discussion of cheap grace, which he termed “costly grace”. It is excerpted from his 1937 masterpiece, The Cost of Discipleship.
Costly grace, on the other hand, is like the treasure hidden in a field, for which we would gladly sell everything to obtain. It is the pearl of great price, worth more than all a merchant's goods. It is the kingdom of Christ, for whose sake we will go so far as to pluck out the eye that causes us to sin. It is the call of Jesus that leads a disciple to leave his nets and follow Him.
Costly grace is the gospel that we must seek again and again, the gift we must ask for, the door we must continually knock on. This grace is costly because it calls us to follow, but it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it demands our very lives, but it is grace because it gives us true life in return. It is costly because it condemns sin, but it is grace because it forgives the sinner. Most of all, it is costly because it cost God the life of His Son – “you were bought at a price" – and what cost God so much cannot be cheap for us.
Yet, it is grace because God did not consider the life of His Son too high a price to pay, but gave Him up for our sake. Costly grace is the grace of God becoming human, the Incarnation itself.
Costly grace is the holy gift of God, which must be guarded from the world, not tossed carelessly to the dogs. It is the living Word of God, spoken as He chooses.
Costly grace confronts us as a gracious call to follow Jesus, offering forgiveness to the afraid and broken-hearted. It is costly because it demands that we submit to Christ's yoke and follow Him, but it is grace because, as Jesus said, "My yoke is easy, and My burden is light."
“Then Jesus said to all of them, ‘If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.’” Luke 9:23 (BSB)
- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President
