Paul referred to it in when addressing the accusation that his emphasis on grace was encouraging people to “continue in sin in order that grace may abound” ( Romans 6:1). The Christian martyr under the Nazis, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, called it “cheap grace” in his book The Cost of Discipleship.Īntinomianism is addressed in the New Testament. Living without or against any laws or rules is known as antinomianism. This problem has been written and preached about throughout church history. However, some hold an extreme, and I believe unbiblical, view of grace. Most persons I know who hold this view, or something like it, don’t go quite this far-they seem to know that there are some limits. This view sees grace as a free pass-carte blanche permission to do whatever one wants. Grace means that pretty much anything goes since it’s all forgiven beforehand. According to this view, grace means no obligations, no rules, and no expected or required patterns of relationship. A Legitimate ConcernĬertainly there is some legitimate concern on the part of those who worry about extending “too much grace.” Some people do hold the idea that living by God’s grace means that it doesn’t matter what we do given that we are saved by grace and not by works. I’ve been reflecting on this concern and think I might have something useful to say.

The suggested corrective to this worrisome tendency is to counter-balance it with teaching on obedience or righteousness or other obligations mentioned in Scripture, especially those in the New Testament.

Sometimes I’ve heard expressed a concern about emphasizing grace too much.

What does giving grace mean