Cheap Grace

PART I

Easy-believism or cheap grace (first popularized by theologian and pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer) has been a constant misconception of our faith. It justifies the sin, not the sinner! Salvation is indeed free, but not cheap! It will cost something and you will be tested. The most obvious one that some won't be willing to pay is to turn from a life of sin, like living in sin and not being willing to change that lifestyle. If we want to live godly in Christ, we will suffer persecution, according to Jesus. We must be willing to seek first the kingdom of God (cf. Matt. 6:33) above all other priorities, dreams, ambitions, and whatever is ours--because all ultimately belongs to Him, because Jesus doesn't want these things--He wants us as living sacrifices (cf. Rom. 12:1)!

That's what He meant when He said we must deny ourselves and follow Him. We don't know where He will lead us or know God laid out a plan for our whole life at salvation but must be willing to do His will, whatever it is in the complete surrender of our wills to His. Jesus also said that we must love Him preeminently above family, friends, children, spouse, and even self. In the last days, men will be lovers of themselves (cf. 2 Tim. 3:2), or "looking out for number one!"

Jesus did everything He could to discourage insincere followers and make salvation "well-nigh impossible." But it is worth the cost to follow Jesus through thick and thin and the reward is eternal. The more abundant life we experience begins in the here and now, as we live in light of eternity with God's blessing in all we do in His name. True prosperity isn't necessarily higher income, not even fame, or power. What being prosperous entails is God's blessings on our ventures and helping us to find what He will bless us in. The disciples were inquisitive about what their reward would be since they gave up everything to follow Him, and Jesus said that it would multiply not add (like ten times, instead of ten more).

Jesus had no trouble attracting admirers or people who wanted to be buddies or sidekicks, but He was looking for disciples who would devote their lives to the learning of Him and be following Him--this is what He meant by those who worship God in Spirit and in truth. Jesus said that if we abide in His Word we are disciples indeed (cf. John 8:31). Don't be someone to whom Jesus might say, "You have sacrificed nothing!" This is an awful rebuke of a disobedient life, and some believers may be saved as if by fire and by the skin of the teeth, so to speak.

The reward that we strive for is everlasting and we should be inspired by athletes who make great sacrifices and strive for a temporal prize that fades away. One of the metaphors that Christ uses for the believer is one of an athlete--we are to exercise discipline in our life and set our eyes on Jesus and finish the race He has set before us. If athletes can endure the discipline and think it will be worth a temporal prize, so much the more should we be inspired to make sacrifices for eternal prizes in Christ's kingdom, and even the ultimate sacrifice, because we are considered worthy to suffer for His kingdom (cf. Philippians 1:29).

The prize we seek is worth more than anything on earth and we should be willing to sacrifice anything on earth to gain it--God doesn't ask everyone to make great sacrifices, but He does expect them to be willing to do so. Nothing on earth (fame, fortune, power) is worth losing our soul for and Jesus said succinctly (cf. Mark 8:36), "What shall it gain a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?" One soul is worth more to God than the entire world! You cannot put a price on salvation nor on the joy that a believer has in Christ.

Jesus never made it seem easy to be a bed of roses to be a believer and admonished us to count the cost, but "all these things shall be added" unto us if we follow Christ. The problem with most seekers is that they want the benefits without the Benefactor. We are not to get a martyr's complex either, thinking that the more we suffer, the more spiritual we are, or that we gain salvation through suffering or martyrdom--Jesus isn't calling us to die for him but to take up our cross and follow Him regardless of the results and through thick and thin. We are called to deny ourselves and this is the unique sacrifice of Christianity, and the one that makes it unattractive to some, because they are unwilling to heed Christ's "hard sayings." When we suffer for His sake, we shall in His glory--no cross--no glory!


PART II

"You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder" (James 2:19, NIV).
"Believe in the Lord [i.e., accepting his lordship or ownership] Jesus, and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31, NIV).
"...' Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Matt. 22:37, NIV).

A. W. Tozer wrote a book, I Call It Hersey, to debunk the false notion of easy-believism (i.e., not accepting Christ as Lord of one's life but believing in spite of it) or cheap grace (i.e., forgiveness without repentance, justifying the sin, not the sinner!), as Dietrich Bonhoeffer referred to it as. This message of domesticating and dumbing down the call to lordship is the gospel in vogue in modern, mainstream denominational churches who disregard repentance and, its flip side, faith as the only means of salvation. William Booth warned of a church offering forgiveness without repentance!

We must have a penitent faith or believing repentance as it were. Salvation is indeed free, but not cheap--it costs everything we've got (total surrender of self to His will). The propagators of the easy-believism tend to preach that we don't have to obey Christ to be saved--just believe! This is not accepting Him as our Lord. Christ will not dichotomize His offices and personhood.

We must submit to Him as Lord and trust Him as Savior. We cannot accept a half-Christ. He is Lord of all, or not at all! (Cf. Rom. 10:12; Acts 10:36). We must bow to His authority (cf. Phil. 2:10-11) and ownership over our lives as the "Captain of our soul and Master of our fate" (cf. Invictus by William Ernest Henley)--we must release control of our life. In other words, our destiny is in His hands (cf. Job 23:14) and we must openly confess Him as our Lord before men to confirm our salvation (cf. Rom. 10:9-10; Matt. 10:32-33). There are no secret Christians or closet believers. There are also no Lone Ranger ones or solitary saints--we must all get connected with the body to function and grow.

Now there is no such thing as a carnal Christian as a class of believers, though believers can become carnal or lose their fellowship, backsliding or even falling from grace. Christians do disobey God, though they do not continue in it, for God disciplines them and brings them back into the fold. If we are without discipline, we are not real children of God! Blessed are those who have learned to be rebuked by the Scripture and don't need a school of hard knocks to learn lives Reality 101. "The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all" (Psalm 34:19, NIV).

God is looking for believers with gusto, who are gung-ho for the Lord, not halfhearted! We must seek Him with our whole heart to find Him, for God regards not triflers. It was said of Joshua (cf. 14:8) that he "wholly followed the Lord." We must hold nothing back, making no compromises with the world, for if we love the world or the things of the world, we will not love God (cf. 1 John 2:15). We must deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him (cf. Mark 8:34). Jesus never made it sound easy to be saved, but even discouraged halfhearted "disciples."

We, also, must not contextualize or water down the gospel message to lure or entice folks with an "acceptable" gospel they can swallow or handle without offense (but Christ is the Rock of offense and a Stone of stumbling!).

Some people merely pay lip service or go through the motions, memorizing the Dance of the Pious, in their worship--which is a fraud and a sham, not the real thing--this is Churchianity or playing games with the church, not Christianity. The Bible condemns those whose lips are near but their hearts are far from the Lord only doing their religious "duty" in church, not out of the heart. Lukewarm believers are ones who are not walking with the Lord and need Christ in their heart to be a real encounter with Him.

The only genuine test of faith is obedience and "only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believes," according to Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Yes, there's a cost to discipleship and no one is promised a bed of roses--our reward is not in this life (cf. Psalm 17:14), for the Lord is our portion (cf. Gen. 15:1)!

Our faith is not measured by our ecstasies or encounters, even experiences such as visions and dreams, but only by our obedience (cf. Heb. 3:18-19)! Jesus will say that we are merely good and faithful servants at the Judgment Seat of Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 5:10). Yes, the cost is great and it's a life of sacrifice of self--not living for oneself--but the cost of rejection is greater!


PART III

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, (cf. The Cost of Discipleship) the famous martyred Lutheran Nazi resistor, talked about "cheap grace." Our salvation is free, but it costs everything. "Easy-believism" refers to belief without commitment and lordship. We must accept Christ as the lord of our lives and the center of our being.

Simple acquiescence or agreement is not enough; one must believe in one's heart and decide to follow Jesus no matter the cost. Jesus said, "Take up your cross, deny yourself and follow Me" (Matt. 16:24).

William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, regretted that the twentieth century would usher in Christianity without Christ and faith without repentance. Your head belief must travel 18 inches to your heart to be heart belief. True faith loves Jesus and is a living relationship with Him.

Repentance is the flip side of faith and goes hand in hand with it. They compliment each other and need each other--they are different viewpoints. We are to leave the fundamentals of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God. To get assurance we must examine our hearts and look at the fruit of our lives. The Word of God coupled with the testimony of the Holy Spirit will bring assurance of true faith.

Don't let anyone tell you that it is easy to become a Christian. Sure children can get saved but one must receive it as a child even if one is old. Jesus said to enter at the "narrow gate" for narrow is the gate and hard is the way that leads to life and "few there be that find it" (Matt. 7:14). Many preachers say, "Just believe! It's easy!" but the Holy Spirit must be working in the person's heart to convict them (John 16:8) and draw them to Christ (John 6:44). Jesus said, "Apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).

God gets all the glory and we are not the captain of our souls or the master of our fate--our ultimate destiny is in the hands of God. Arminians think this makes God look like a terrible tyrant, but in reality, He is sovereign over all. Soli Deo Gloria!

Domesticating The Biblical Evangel

Many preachers today are into watering down or contextualizing the gospel message, even glossing over sin, while they preach to make it seem less strident and more palatable to the seeker.  Jesus made it appear well-nigh impossible and even discouraged the faint in heart and those who wouldn't count the cost of laying down their lives for Him. When the evangelist preaches that all we need to do is simply believe, or agreeing without obedience or lordship, he is guilty of disseminating a false gospel or what are termed by Dietrich Bonhoeffer as "cheap grace."  (NB:  Salvation is free but not cheap! This is also known as "easy-believism" because it denies the necessity of making a lordship commitment to enter into a permanent relationship with God in salvation and reconciliation.  Its logical conclusion is that there can be "carnal Christians" who haven't fully surrendered to Christ's lordship and ownership of their lives as a new type or class of Christian.

This is where we must distinguish but not separate law and gospel in our preaching and evangelizing.  Law is what we must do: gospel is what God has done (the done deal!).  We must get them lost first!  We must preach sin to get them convicted of sin--for they may not see any need for salvation or believe they're righteous already.  We must not dumb down the gospel to those would-be disciples who admire or respect Jesus but don't worship Him. Why?  Because false assurance that one is saved is more of a problem than lack of assurance among sincere believers with weak faith.  Those who see no need of Christ are worse off than those seeking Him and realize their sinfulness.   What does lordship entail but obedience to the gospel and following on to know the Lord and walk with Him in fellowship producing fruit? And so the bad news of condemnation due to sin is the first word.  Sin is not a killjoy word to be avoided, even though it seems like a thankless and unwelcome task to preach it.

Then we welcome the grace of God to set the sinner free and restore his relationship with God (reconciliation). The bad news is our condition as totally depraved and that we are not good enough to need to be saved, but bad enough to be saved (knowing that no one is too bad to be saved though).  However, there's a catch-22:  we must realize how bad we are to be saved, and to realize how bad we are, we must try to be good! It's like not realizing how addicted one is to cigarettes until one tries to stop.  The good news is what God has done for us: solving the sin question with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.  We must become grace-oriented to have any assurance because merit is the antithesis of grace and there is no place for merit in God's economy.

Faith is not seen as a work of man for then he'd be worthy but as a miracle work of kindling it as wrought in God ("This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent," cf. John 6:29).  When we are grace-oriented in our salvation it affects our whole outlook on our relationship or walk with God.

Easy-Believism Or Cheap Grace

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, (cf. The Cost of Discipleship) the famous Lutheran Nazi resistor, talked about "cheap grace." Our salvation is free, but it costs everything. "Easy-believism" refers to belief without commitment and lordship. We must accept Christ as the lord of our lives and the center of our being.

Simple acquiescence or agreement is not enough (the Romanists believe that agreement with church dogma constitutes a meritorious faith); one must believe in one's heart and decide to follow Jesus no matter the cost. Jesus said, "Take up your cross, deny yourself and follow Me" (Matt. 16:24).

William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, regretted that the twentieth century would usher in Christianity without Christ and faith without repentance. Your head belief must travel 18 inches to your heart to be heart belief. True faith loves Jesus and is a living relationship with Him.

Repentance is the flip side of faith and goes hand in hand with it. They compliment each other and need each other--they are different viewpoints. We are to leave the fundamentals of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God. To get assurance we must examine our hearts and look at the fruit of our lives. The Word of God coupled with the testimony of the Holy Spirit will bring assurance of true faith.

Don't let anyone tell you that it is easy to become a Christian. Sure children can get saved but one must receive it as a child even if one is old. Jesus said to enter at the "narrow gate" for narrow is the gate and hard is the way that leads to life and "few there be that find it" (Matt. 7:14). Many preachers say, "Just believe! It's easy!" but the Holy Spirit must be working in the person's heart to convict them (John 16:8) and draw them to Christ (John 6:44). Jesus said, "Apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). Soli Deo Gloria!

God gets all the glory and we are not the captain of our souls or the master of our fate--our ultimate destiny is in the hands of God. Arminians think this makes God look like a terrible tyrant, but in reality, He is sovereign over all.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Easy-believism

"You believe that there is one God.  Good!  Even the demons believe that--and shudder" (James 2:19, NIV).  
"Believe in the Lord [i.e., accepting his lordship or ownership] Jesus, and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31, NIV).
"...' Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Matt. 22:37, NIV).

A. W. Tozer wrote a book, I Call It Hersey, to debunk the false notion of easy-believism (i.e., not accepting Christ as Lord of one's life but believing in spite of it) or cheap grace (i.e., forgiveness without repentance, justifying the sin, not the sinner!), as Dietrich Bonhoeffer referred to it as.  This message of domesticating and dumbing down the call to lordship is the gospel in vogue in modern, mainstream denominational churches who disregard repentance and, its flip side, faith as the only means of salvation. William Booth warned of a church offering forgiveness without repentance!

We must have a penitent faith or believing repentance as it were.  Salvation is indeed free, but not cheap--it costs everything we've got (total surrender of self to His will).  The propagators of the easy-believism tend to preach that we don't have to obey Christ to be saved--just believe!  This is not accepting Him as our Lord.  Christ will not dichotomize His offices and personhood.

We must submit to Him as Lord and trust Him as Savior.  We cannot accept a half-Christ.  He is Lord of all, or not at all! (Cf. Rom. 10:12; Acts 10:36).  We must bow to His authority (cf. Phil. 2:10-11) and ownership over our lives as the "Captain of our soul and Master of our fate" (cf. Invictus by William Ernest Henley)--we must release control of our life. In other words, our destiny is in His hands (cf. Job 23:14) and we must openly confess Him as our Lord before men to confirm our salvation (cf. Rom. 10:9-10; Matt. 10:32-33).  There are no secret Christians or closet believers.  There are also no Lone Ranger ones or solitary saints--we must all get connected with the body to function and grow.

Now there is no such thing as a carnal Christian as a class of believers, though believers can become carnal or lose their fellowship, backsliding or even falling from grace.  Christians do disobey God, though they do not continue in it, for God disciplines them and brings them back into the fold.  If we are without discipline, we are not real children of God!  Blessed are those who have learned to be rebuked by the Scripture and don't need a school of hard knocks to learn lives Reality 101.  "The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all" (Psalm 34:19, NIV).  

God is looking for believers with gusto, who are gung-ho for the Lord, not halfhearted!  We must seek Him with our whole heart to find Him, for God regards not triflers.  It was said of Joshua (cf. 14:8) that he "wholly followed the Lord."  We must hold nothing back, making no compromises with the world, for if we love the world or the things of the world, we will not love God (cf. 1 John 2:15).  We must deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him (cf. Mark 8:34).  Jesus never made it sound easy to be saved, but even discouraged halfhearted "disciples."

We, also, must not contextualize or water down the gospel message to lure or entice folks with an "acceptable" gospel they can swallow or handle without offense (but Christ is the Rock of offense and a Stone of stumbling!).

Some people merely pay lip service or go through the motions, memorizing the Dance of the Pious, in their worship--which is a fraud and a sham, not the real thing--this is Churchianity or playing games with the church, not Christianity.  The  Bible condemns those whose lips are near but their hearts are far from the Lord only doing their religious "duty" in church, not out of the heart.  Lukewarm believers are ones who are not walking with the Lord and need Christ in their heart to be a real encounter with Him.

The only genuine test of faith is obedience and "only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believes," according to Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  Yes, there's a cost to discipleship and no one is promised a bed of roses--our reward is not in this life (cf. Psalm 17:14), for the Lord is our portion (cf. Gen. 15:1)!

Our faith is not measured by our ecstasies or encounters, even experiences such as visions and dreams, but only by our obedience (cf. Heb. 3:18-19)!  Jesus will say that we are merely good and faithful servants at the Judgment Seat of Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 5:10).  Yes, the cost is great and it's a life of sacrifice of self--not living for oneself--but the cost of rejection is greater!       Soli Deo Gloria!

Our Common Salvation

Jude wanted to write a treatise on "our common salvation," but was diverted to discuss heresy that had crept into the church.

This is a subject known doctrinally as soteriology, from the Greek soter, or to save.

The common man has no comprehension of what salvation means, and probably relates to a boxer being "saved by the bell."  A renowned theologian (R. C. Sproul) was asked if he was saved:  "Saved from what?"  The man was taken aback and had no answer; he didn't know what our salvation is from!   Actually, we are saved by God and from God (delivered from the wrath to come according to 1 Thess. 1:10).  We are as bad off as can be, but not too bad to be saved!

Christianity is a religion of salvation and this is pivotal.  "Salvation is of the Lord," says Jonah 2:9, and this means that God does all the work and gets all the credit and glory.  The other two possibilities are to be saved by a  combination of our efforts and God's, or to be saved by our efforts alone.  Only in the scenario that has God doing everything, can we have the assurance of salvation?

The Bible proclaims the saviorhood of God; this is His purpose in dying  ("...and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.").  The Scriptures speak of Christ as being the only way to be saved and that there is no other Savior (cf. Acts 4:12; John 14:6; Hos. 13:4;  Isa.43:11).

All three offices of Christ take part in our salvation:  as Prophet, we are saved from ignorance of sin; as Priest from the guilt of sin; as King from the dominion of sin (per D. James Kennedy).

There are many aspects to look at our salvation.   At the point of salvation we are saved from the penalty of sin or justified, then we are sanctified or saved from the power of sin, and in the state of glory, we will be saved from the presence of sin.  Another way of looking at this is that of our position (in Christ), our condition (fellowship and sanctification), and our expectation (glorification).  From the standpoint of the tenses, we are saved, we are being saved, and we shall be saved.  Our outlook is given perspective so that we have a worldview:  "Our past is forgiven, our present is given meaning, and our future is secured."  This all began in eternity past, is realized in time, and looks forward to, and is consummated in heaven.

Our salvation is a done deal, a fait accompli, a finished work--a divine accomplishment, not a human achievement.  Religion is a do-it-yourself proposition and says, "Do," but God says, "Done!"  The entire Trinity took part:  the Father planned and authored it, the Son secured and accomplished it, and the Holy Spirit applied it.

Only in Christianity can we have the assurance of salvation and this is not meant to be permission to live in the flesh, but the power to live in the Spirit.   Assurance enhances growth and is assuredly a boon to our spiritual well-being--otherwise, we are stunted and paralyzed in our walk.  Note that assurance and security can be distinguished, but not separated.  They go hand in hand and without one, you cannot have the other.  Assurance is not to satisfy idle curiosity, but meant to strengthen our faith, and is a sign of faith, not presumption.

Salvation is not by knowledge--that would be intellectualism--and not by emotion--that would be emotionalism--and not by works--that would be moralism.   It is not by faith plus works, not by faith plus being good, nor by faith plus law-keeping.  It is by grace alone, through faith alone,  in Christ alone.  Principle:  Don't divorce faith and faithfulness!  What kind of faith is saving faith is the issue:  only obedient and repentant faith will do.

There are only four possibilities for salvation to note:  by works alone; by faith plus works; by faith alone bringing about good works, and by faith alone equaling salvation minus good works.  The first is religion, the second is legalism, the third is correct Reformed teaching, and the last one is only antinomianism or easy-believism.  [This labeling from R. C. Sproul]  The formula during the Reformation was that we are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone.

Our faith is simple--so simple a child can do it-- but not simplistic; it is childlike, but not childish.  It's not a matter of trying, but trusting--trust and obey!  It is the work of God (John 6:28-29 answers this question:  "What shall we do, to do the works of God?  It is the work of God that you believe..."); because we are incurably addicted to doing something for our salvation, according to Chuck Swindoll.   The reformer called this Soli Deo Gloria, or to God alone be the glory!   Soli Deo Gloria!

Nixing So-Called Easy-Believism

A. W. Tozer said that God will not save those whom He cannot command--what a deathblow to those who deny lordship salvation! [Lordship salvation means you must accept Christ as Lord as well as Savior to be saved.]  Some refer to this as antinomianism (against the law, we are not under the law, but we are not lawless--the sinner knows no law and the saint needs no law!) and think that they have permission to live as they please, simply because they are secure in their salvation.   It all has to do with the sovereignty of God and His divine prerogative to rule us and all His creation as He sees fit to His glory. Every knee shall bow according to Phil. 2:10 (either in this life or in the hereafter at  Judgment Day). In surrendering,   I recall the song "All hail the power of Jesus' Name! Let angels prostrate fall; Bring forth the royal diadem, And crown Him Lord of all."

Many people have lordship issues with life per se: e.g., some say, "I don't like to take orders." Some fear a taste of authoritarianism and lack of individuality and infringement on their free will. We have authority figures in our culture from the time we are children when parents are in loco Dei (in the place of God). Even the king is accountable to God! Actually, the 5th commandment to honor our parents really can be applied to respect all authority and to give honor to whom honor is due even to the emperor. Some people say they believe in God and do lip service but are practical atheists (believing in God, but denying Him by their witness and testimony), because they live like there is no accountability and authority above their own person. I got news: Everyone is under the authority and no one is above the law--we all reap what we sow, according to the law of the harvest.

Christ is "Lord of all" regardless of our decision and even Satan has to take orders from above and get permission for his mischief.     We don't make Him Lord--He is already Lord. We acknowledge His sovereignty and control and ownership of our lives--to do less is to reject Him. Do you own Him as your personal Lord--can you freely (if you don't know, you will at the judgment) confess Him as your Lord, as Thomas did: "My Lord and my God." Jesus is either Lord of all--or not Lord at all. "There is not one maverick molecule in the universe," says  renowned theologian and pastor R. C. Sproul, "which is out of His control." The toss of the die is in His control as well (c.f. Prov. 16:33)--yes, He micromanages  (even the minutiae) the cosmos and superintends all to His glory and purpose---nothing escapes His attentiveness.    Soli Deo Gloria (to God alone be the glory).

The question we must ask ourselves is whether we are holding out on God and if we are gung ho or not to the Great Commission. We cannot escape authority figures who teach us to respect and obey, but we must not kowtow or pay homage to any human as to God. We don't want to get lax, lethargic or blasé about serving God, but getting with the program and having a vision. ("Without a vision, the people perish," Prov. 29:18.) In our daily lives we are not to leave God out of the reckoning and out of the equation, as it were, but to seek His revealed will and be committed to it. The greatest prayer we can pray is this: "Into Thy hands, I commit my spirit, and not my will, but thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. This means there is no secular versus sacred areas of our lives but we can worship God in all that we do and bring glory to Him in everything ("Whatsoever you do, do to the glory of God," says 1 Cor. 10:31).  Our lives are to be in harmony with God and then we will have His blessing and smooth sailing, so to speak. The easiest way to put is to "Trust and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey."

"Father knows best," (everything is "Father-filtered, as it were) we should say, as we sell out lock, stock, and barrel to the Lord. If we are not in God's will, and this is the safest place to be, trusting Him, we are what we call "wandering in the wilderness" like Israel  (i.e., in a trial period), and we must learn to submit to Christ as Lord just as we have trusted Him as Savior--by faith! "The just shall live by faith" (Rom. 1:17). 

Let's summarize:  it all has to do with respect for authority and honoring all people because we are all in the image of God.  1 Pet. 2:17 says to "honor all people," and Rom. 13:7 says to give "respect to whom respect is due."  With all due respect, we disagree, but we don't slander or libel one's reputation, or cast a slur on our fellow man.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Easy-believism

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the famous Lutheran Nazi resistor, talked about "cheap grace." Our salvation is free, but it costs everything. "Easy-believism" refers to belief without commitment and lordship. We must accept Christ as the lord of our lives and the center of our being. Simple acquiescence or agreement is not enough (the Romanists or Papists believe that agreement with church dogma constitutes a meritorious faith); one must believe in one's heart and decide to follow Jesus no matter the cost. Jesus said, "Take up your cross, deny yourself and follow Me" (Matt. 16:24).

William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, regretted that the twentieth century would usher in Christianity without Christ and faith without repentance. Your head belief must travel 18 inches to your heart to be heart belief. True faith loves Jesus and is a living relationship with Him. Repentance is the flip side of faith and goes hand in hand with it. They compliment each other and need each other--they are different viewpoints. We are to leave the fundamentals of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God. To get assurance we must "examine our hearts and look at the fruit of our lives," according to R. C. Sproul. Also, he says the "Word of God coupled with the testimony of the Holy Spirit" will bring assurance of true faith.

Don't let anyone tell you that it is easy to become a Christian. Sure children can get saved but one must receive it as a child even if one is old. Jesus said to enter at the "narrow gate" for narrow is the gate and hard is the way that leads to life and "few there be that find it" (Matt. 7:14). Many preachers say, "Just believe! (we don't need faith in faith per se, but obedient and penitent faith) It's easy!" but the Holy Spirit must be working in the person's heart to convict them (John 16:8) and draw them to Christ (John 6:44).

Jesus said, "Apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5). Soli Deo Gloria! God gets all the glory and we are not the captain of our souls or the master of our fate--our ultimate destiny is in the hands of God. Arminians think this makes God look like a terrible tyrant, but in reality, He is sovereign over all.   Soli Deo Gloria!