EXPENSIVE GRACE

  Before I quote the prophet Jeremiah, his credibility must be presented. Here is Jeremiah’s testimony:

KEY VERSE: O Lord, You induced me, and I was persuaded; You are stronger than I, and have prevailed. I am in derision daily; everyone mocks me. (Jer 20:7; NKJV)

   Consider Jeremiah’s words using the truth of Jesus:


  (1) The Lord “induced” Jeremiah. What did Jesus say?  “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:44), “…that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Tim 2:2-4). To “induce,” the Lord draws people to hearken unto His Word, then reveals the truth!

  (2) The next activity was that Jeremiah was persuaded; not accepting partial truth, but all the truth. He looked at God’s Word and considered it, and was persuaded that it was truthful. Jesus said, “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead” (Luke 16:31). That was in reference to the rich man in Hell who wanted to save his brothers from perishing. Jesus used his own death and resurrection as a means of persuasion. King Agrippa told Paul, ““You almost persuade me to become a Christian” (Acts 26:28).
  “Almost” is not sufficient; to be a Christian means fully persuaded that Jesus is the promised Messiah and that he died for the sins of all mankind, and then was raised from the dead. “And he (Paul) reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks. (Acts 18:14). Paul didn’t use emotion but reason and logic. People have both the knowledge of good and evil, and Paul used good knowledge to reason against their evil knowledge. “Persuasion” is knowing the truth, and becoming free from deception. (John 8:32).

  (3) Jeremiah said to God: “You are stronger than I, and have prevailed.” What was the sin of Adam? Seeing himself “as God” Is (Gen 3:5). What did Jesus say about self-esteem? “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself” (Mat 16:4b).
  Jeremiah was humbled. He became as Paul years later who was changed from questioning to humbled. Jeremiah did what Jesus said to do: admit that the Lord is stronger than himself! He came to understand that he was nothing in comparison to God, and with that, trusted the Lord for resurrection, realizing that he had not that power!
  God must prevail. That is clear with the first sin. God was still God, but Adam became a poor image of God after being made in His image!
  Let’s examine God: Forever-Existing, Almighty, All-knowing, everywhere present, full of grace, loving, merciful, kind, patient, having a divine will, and much more.  Adam was created with a degree of those characteristics: He had a knowledge of good only, his power was dependent on God’s will, he was confined to his body and the Garden, had a limited existence, he had grace for the other kinds of creatures, he was reverent to God, was somewhat kind, and perhaps having some patience, but not much. Furthermore, the thing Adam had of utmost importance was his own will. God’s Will was the rule, but Adam was allowed to exercise his limited weak will. With original sin, mankind competed with God in a battle of the wills. Which “god” is more powerful? The One True God, and that was neither Adam nor Jeremiah!
  How can one tell if they have been persuaded of truth? They relent… God is strong but I am weak. He IS God and I merely want TO BE as God. That the root of “sin” is TO BE makes much sense because the will of sinners prevail over God’s Will. Jeremiah denied himself, and certainly bore Jesus’s cross in that he was persecuted and died on behalf of God’s Word – The Son of God Jesus (John 1-3,14).

  (4) Jeremiah’s assurance of his faith was in the outcome. He was “shapen in iniquity” just as David was (Psalm 51:5). He had a propensity to sin, but rather than that, he submitted his will to God, and honored God’s reign. After Jeremiah submitted what little power he had to God, God made him strong with the imbuement of His Holy Spirit. Jeremiah lived and spoke the truth; what others did not want to hear, be it commoner, king, or cleric. He was against all three-estates of Judah!
  With that, the will of Jeremiah was tested. He said that he could have remained silent, but was forced to scream out to all who would listen. With all that truth, the anger of the mob was aroused: “I am in derision daily; everyone mocks me.” What does the New Testament say? “We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—  always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body” (2 Cor 4:8-10).

  How can we tell if we are truly servants to the Lord? We will speak truth and exhibit love. Truth is “toughlove” in that few want to hear the truth and will be provoked to anger. The angry mob killed Jesus, and the angry mob will persecute those who carry the “body” of Christ in their “temple.” As a Christian, if you are not ridiculed and mocked, perhaps you speak little truth or even seldom speak of the truth of God’s Word.
  Jeremiah had been “born again.” He endured in his faith to the end, and was saved just as Jesus promised: “And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved” (Mat 10:22). Rebirth is easy grace. Endurance through persecution is tough grace. Some take the cheap grace, are born again, and then remain silent about their reprieve. Grace is expensive. The cost was born by Jesus’s own life. It must be treated, not as “cheap grace” as Dietrich Bonnhoeffer called it, but expensive grace with the cost born by God Himself who redeemed us all with His own flesh and lifeblood.
  If you have not been derided and mocked for Jesus’s Name, then perhaps you have yet to be fully persuaded. There is no such thing as a “silent Christian” because with full persuasion, Christians must speak out!