No one else dared join them . . . Nevertheless, more and
more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number (Acts 5:13,14).
These verses seem
oxymoronic. In the aftermath of Liargate – the story of Ananias and Sapphira – people didn’t take joining the
church lightly. Church membership was obviously not for the faint of heart, but
a commitment to be taken seriously. Those who weren’t serious stayed away. No
one wanted to see a headstone with his name on it.
Rather than
experiencing a drop in numbers, men and women still received Christ and many
were added to the church. In addition to growing in numbers, we see not only
the power displayed among the saints and the vibrant church experience they
enjoyed, but also the reverence and awe evoked among those who were not yet
counted as members (vv. 15,16).
Could it be that we
have made it too easy for the tentative to make half-hearted decisions for
Christ, and welcomed the non-committed into church fellowship with the promise
that, after all, grace is free and costs us nothing? Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote:
“Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, . .
. grace without discipleship” [5].
We make grace cheap
when we divest Christian commitment of all responsibility, fearing that demands
will discourage conversions and impede church growth. Maybe, exactly the
opposite is true.
TODAY’S MEDITATION
Is your commitment worthy
of God’s free gift of grace? What would such commitment look like?
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