Grace Costs

Joseph’s coat of many colors was a free, unmerited gift from his smiling father. It cost him nothing to receive it from his hands, but it cost him the rejection and hatred of his brethren to wear it daily. It may sound like a misnomer, but grace does cost. A father may give his son a new car, without conditions, but there is a price to pay in receiving it. One is the jealousy of many of his friends. Also there is the personal responsibility placed upon him in owning it.

And so it is with the grace of God. Once this supernatural, free gift is received, there are natural costs that follow. The first is a scrutiny on the part of the believer himself. He must be careful he does not abuse or misuse this new-found liberty. He must be always conscious that this grace he has received does not become a disgrace. On the other hand, there will be the slanderous reports of the brethren who say you teach “Let us sin that grace may abound,” and accuse you of antinomianism. It would seem that, if we are following Paul’s example, a believer is not really living under grace until he also is accused of this.

Thank God for delivering some of us from the legalistic slavery of a list of man-made rules and regulations, to the ranks of the “freedom movement” that is governed only by His Spirit and His Word.