Have you ever pondered the seeming contradiction in scripture that salvation is a free gift of God, but discipleship is costly? Isn’t being saved the same as being a disciple? How can they be both free and costly? I came upon this question in 1995 when I read John F. MacArther, Jr.’s book, “The Gospel According to Jesus.” In it, he stressed the cost of discipleship and questioned a premise of Zane C. Hodges’ books, “The Hungry Inherit” and “The Gospel Under Siege” that salvation is free and based solely on belief in Jesus. After wrestling with the issue for a while, I put it aside intending to pick it back up again at a later date. Well, I never did until recently when my grandson Sam posted a Facebook message on costly grace. That prompted me to work out the reconciliation and share it in this article.

SALVATION IS A FREE GIFT FROM GOD

What scripture says about salvation:

‎- 1 Corinthians 5:19, 21 “… God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them “… He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”‎

This scripture says what God did to save us: Knowing before creation that all people would be guilty of sin and that, as a just God, sin must be punished, God planned to rescue man by coming as Christ. He would teach us God’s ways and lead a sinless life. Then He would pay for the sins (not counting their trespasses against them) of all mankind by being crucified on a Roman cross. Not only did pure and sinless Christ suffer physically, but He also suffered mentally, and spiritually by “becoming sin” so that we could become or be assigned the righteousness of God

‎– Romans 6:23 “… the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.”‎

— Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works that no one should boast.”

‎– John 3:16 “… whoever believes in Him shall have everlasting life.‎

These three scriptures above say what God requires of man to be saved: First, salvation is a gift. It is free in the sense that you cannot earn it by doing good works and you don’t deserve it. That’s what grace means – unmerited favor from God. Does one get this gift automatically? No. Recognizing one’s need as a sinner, in an attitude of repentance, to receive the gift of salvation, eternal life, forgiveness, and reconciliation to God, he simply must believe (trust in, count on) what God did for us through Christ. When Christ died on the cross, He paid the penalty for each person’s sins. When one believes to the point of trusting in what Jesus did on the cross to save him, then he is saved. None of us did and can’t do anything to earn it. We simply have to believe to the point of trusting in what Christ did for us.

DISCIPLESHIP IS COSTLY

Before looking at the relevant scriptures let’s consider the question, “Are there or can there be difficult consequences when one receives a valuable gift?” Some examples of valuable gifts include:

A distant rich uncle dies and leaves you a multi-million-dollar fortune
You are working and living independently and suddenly your father dies and leaves you his
lucrative business
A rich benefactor gives you an expensive car
Or he gives you 100 tickets to the super-bowl
These gifts are all free in that you didn’t do anything to earn them. What are some of the likely or potential consequences of receiving these free gifts? When word gets out, relatives you didn’t know you had will come out of the woodwork and ask for financial help or sue you for “their” share. The inherited business is going to require you to either quit your job and move to where it is to run it or go through the process of finding someone to run it for you. Friends, acquaintances, and relatives will pressure you for a job. The same for the super-bowl tickets – you will be hounded by folks who hear about it to get a ticket. The expensive car will have to be housed somewhere, insured, and maintained – all imposing on your time, money, and efforts. When the IRS finds out about your gift, they will come after you for taxes, and you’ll have to hire an accountant or lawyer to deal with them.

The point of these examples is that just because you got a free gift, that does not imply there are no consequences. Therefore, assuming you have the option to accept or reject the free gift before you accept it, it will be prudent to consider the consequences of doing so. When you receive a valuable gift, you have (1) a stewardship responsibility. How will you deal with the gift – wisely or will you squander it? (2) as just discussed, there will likely be consequences. Let’s see how this applies to the free gift of salvation or eternal life.

What scripture says about the cost of discipleship:

Luke 14: 26-28, 33 “26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.”
‎John 3:3 “… unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” ‎
‎Salvation, which includes eternal life, peace with God, and His forgiveness and assurance of heaven, is what Jesus called the “pearl of great price” and the “hidden treasure in the field.” It is worth whatever it takes to obtain it – the most valuable thing on earth for you. But Jesus also said that, like any valuable gift, accepting it you will (1) have a stewardship responsibility and (2) there will likely be some difficult consequences in addition to the many blessings. So, Jesus is saying to consider or count the costs before accepting the gift of eternal life. Why would there be consequences to eternal life?‎
‎…. ‎‎First, there are those in the world who view God and Christians as enemies. These include Satan and his demons, the ungodly, and those who follow false religions. They are against God and they will be against you.‎

‎…. Se‎‎cond, God has standards for living, which He has given through our conscience and scripture. Accepting the gift of eternal life will mean giving up a sinful lifestyle. I once witnessed to a secretary at work and after sharing the gospel, I invited her to trust in Christ. Her answer was, “I want to, but I can’t do it now.” She was living with a man she was not married to. She knew that was wrong before God. So, she was counting the cost and how she would work it out before she could accept the gift of eternal life. I am happy to say she later got married (invited me to the wedding), and, if I remember correctly, she told me she had trusted in Christ.‎‎ ‎‎..‎

‎…. Th‎‎ird, once you receive the gift of eternal life, you will want to and choose to place God first in your life – even above family. As Christ says in Luke 14, trusting in Him may alienate you from family – like when your family is devout Jewish or Muslim and disown you for trusting in Christ. Receiving the gift of God – forgiveness of sin and eternal life – is not a half-hearted decision‎

‎… Fou‎‎rth, after you trust Christ you will understand that all things are God’s including the things we possess. We will become stewards of these things, accountable to God for how we use them.‎‎ ‎‎..‎‎ You may be asking, “That’s a lot of change or cost to me. I don’t think I can do it. I’m not that strong.” But, here is a wonderful truth about accepting the gift of eternal life – God changes you into a new person. As Jesus said in John 3:3 “You must be born again” and that is what happens when you believe. Paul said essentially the same thing in 1 Corinthians 5:17, “If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature, the old things passed away; behold new things have come.” What will be the characteristics of your new self? Here they are:‎

You will want to please God above all else – to learn and be obedient to His standards for us
You will trust God in everything – you now know that He is 100% trustworthy
You now understand that all things are God’s including your possessions and that you are now a
steward of them – not the owner
You will live life more abundantly as Jesus promised – abundantly in the things and ways that truly
matter
You have a thirst for spending time with God and Christ in worship and prayer – to have fellowship
and a personal relationship with them

The point here is that all the costs of discipleship you considered or counted that you thought you couldn’t do, God will enable you to do when He changes you to a new person the moment you accept His gift by believing. Scripture also says that the moment you believe, the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, comes to dwell in you, to protect you, to help you.

To close consider this. Jesus gave us perspective on the most valuable thing in this life – not losing your soul and ending up in an eternity in hell. He said saving your soul is more important than any earthly possessions when He said, “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his own soul?” Again, Jesus stressed the great value of saving your soul through believing in and accepting God’s provision through Christ, by giving us the stories of the pearl of great price and the hidden treasure in the field. In each story, the person sold all they had to obtain it. That’s how valuable the gift of eternal life is. Jesus said to count the cost – like any valuable gift you receive, it will mean changes or consequences to you – but considering the enormous value of the gift, it is without question worth it. Finally, you need not worry about being able to be a good disciple – when you accept the gift, God changes you into a new person, one who wants to and is able to be a follower of Christ, a disciple, a Christian.