Once More: Cheap Grace (2)

In my previous blog I discussed statements by Henk Binnendijk in which he distanced himself from preaching that, in his view, makes grace cheap. He argues against this because following Jesus is by no means cheap but costs everything. In my first response I focused on the essence of grace. Grace means: for nothing, free. “Cheap grace” is therefore a contradictio in terminis—an internal contradiction.

and yet…

Still, the above does not say everything. In defense of Henk Binnendijk’s position, someone offered the following:

Paul may say that salvation is for free, but we are first and foremost called to listen to our Lord. And He clearly says that whoever does not renounce all that he has cannot be His disciple (see Luke 14:33, or Matthew 10:34–39, Luke 14:25–35, and John 12:25). So Henk Binnendijk is right: following Jesus demands great sacrifice.

It is important to get clarity on this. Because Binnendijk’s reasoning certainly finds support in the Bible. Especially in the Gospels, we see this. But how does that work? That grace has no price tag may be true, but that still doesn’t answer the question of how Jesus can indeed place high demands on those who follow Him.

“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.”
– Matthew 10:37 –

And not only that: Jesus also links major consequences to it for the future.

“Yet He said to them: Amen, I am saying to you, that no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children on account of the Kingdom of God, shall not by all means be getting back manyfold in this era, and in the coming aeon, aeonian life.”
– Luke 18:29–30 –

Jesus speaks of giving up house and family for the Kingdom of God and of the generous reward of all this in the coming aeon (= the eon-lasting life). Is this message at odds with Paul’s proclamation that all is “freely given” and that God saves and justifies all people? The answer is: absolutely not. Jesus speaks to Israel with a view to the coming aeon, while Paul speaks to the nations with a view to the completion of the aeons, when God will be “all in all.” Let me explain.

the setting of Jesus’ preaching

First of all, the audience of the message is different. Jesus’ public ministry took place in the context of Israel. His preaching was exclusively intended for the people of Israel with a view to the arrival of the Kingdom. He was “sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matt. 15:24) and proclaimed to them that “the Kingdom of the heavens has drawn near” (Matt. 4:17).

That by this Kingdom He meant the Messianic age as foretold by Israel’s prophets, was entirely clear to His Jewish listeners. The Messiah would restore the throne of David in Jerusalem and establish His Kingdom worldwide. All nations would be subjected to Him, and Israel would take the lead among the nations: an Israelite world empire. It is in that prophetic expectation that we must understand Jesus’ ministry.

Those who responded to Jesus’ message and gave up everything to follow Him in that, will be richly rewarded when the coming aeon dawns. That time is elsewhere referred to as “the thousand years” (Rev. 20). The true disciples will hold prominent positions in that Kingdom. Keep in mind that many will not experience that aeon, but will perish and only rise again after the Millennium.

Paul’s ministry: Israel’s stumbling

The setting of Paul’s message is entirely different. He was called (Acts 9) after the testimony of “the Twelve” in Jerusalem had been officially rejected, as is evident in the stoning of Stephen by the Sanhedrin (Acts 7). Paul’s ministry begins where the preaching of “the Twelve” in Jerusalem ends. From the moment Saul becomes Paul (Acts 13:9), he turns to the nations because of Israel’s unbelief. His message is not the imminent restoration of Israel but rather its impending downfall (Acts 13:40–41; 22:18). After Acts 28, this threat becomes a certainty, which was fulfilled a few years later in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

reconciliation of the world

Where the Jewish people stumbled over the message of the risen Messiah and the expected time of salvation failed to arrive (Acts 3:19–21), Paul went to the nations to announce “the reconciliation of the world” (Rom. 11:15). Israel is temporarily set aside as a nation, and the message of grace reaches the nations. That is the interruption in salvation history that the name Paul (> pau-se) symbolizes. Not just the coming aeon is the subject of his preaching, but above all the universal outcome at the completion of the aeons. That is the end of Christ’s reign, when death as the last enemy will be abolished and all remaining people will be made alive. Then God will be “all in all” (1 Cor. 15:22–28). Then all will be made alive, all saved (1 Tim. 2:4; 4:10), all justified (Rom. 3:24; 5:18), the universe reconciled (Col. 1:20), and all will confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:9–11).

in summary…

When it comes to the coming aeon (i.e. the thousand years), a large part of humanity will still be absent, and a relatively small selection of people will hold leading positions. This was the focus of Jesus’ preaching on earth, and in line with that, it is also “the Gospel of the circumcision” as James, Peter, and John proclaimed it with a view to Israel (Gal. 2:7–9).

Paul’s “Gospel of the uncircumcision” (Gal. 2:7) went out to the nations and is focused on the grace of GOD that will triumph universally in “the fullness of the times.” This message is specifically intended for our time. It is therefore entirely misplaced to assign greater weight to Jesus’ words in the Gospels than to Paul’s words. In fact: it is precisely Paul who is the spokesman of the exalted Christ (Gal. 1:12) during the time that Israel is set aside. To this very day.

If we distinguish these differences in audience, themes, and timelines, the above-mentioned contrasts in the biblical message are no longer contradictions. The diversity and variation prove to be in harmony. For “each in his own order” and everything in God’s time.

Delen: