Nondiscipleship is the elephant in the church. It is not the much discussed moral failures, financial abuses, or the amazing general similarity between Christians and non-Christians. These are only effects of the underlying problem. The fundamental negative reality among Christian believers now is their failure to be constantly learning how to live their lives in The Kingdom Among Us. And it is an accepted reality. The division of Christians into those from whom it is a matter of whole-life devotion to God and those who maintain a consumer, or client, relationship to the church has now been an accepted reality for over fifteen hundred years.
And at present–in the distant outworkings of the Protestant Reformation, with its truly great and good message of salvation by faith alone–that long-accepted division has worked its way into the very heart of the gospel message. It is now understood to be a part of the “good news” that one does not have to be a life student of Jesus in order to be a Christian and receive forgiveness of sins. This gives a precise meaning to the phrase “cheap grace,” though it would be
better described as “costly faithlessness.”
–Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy (San Francisco: Harper, 1998), p.301; emphasis his
[i]And at present–in the distant outworkings of the Protestant Reformation, with its truly great and good message of salvation by faith alone–that long-accepted division has worked its way into the very heart of the gospel message. It is now understood to be a part of the “good news” that one does not have to be a life student of Jesus in order to be a Christian and receive forgiveness of sins.[/i]
True of our times, and indeed absolutely inevitable, if [i]sola fide[/i] is maintained and understood in the sense in which it usually [i]is[/i] understood.
[url=http://oldhundredth.blogspot.com]John Edwards[/url]
Isn’t this a case of Jesus as Savior vs Jesus as Lord? The process of Sanctification is seen as optional.
I think Willard has this right. We like Jesus as Savior and the doctrines of sola fide, sola scriptura, and sola gratis have devolved into “As long As I intellectually assent to these statements, I’m OK.” “I don’t need anyone to tell me what scripture means. It means what I feel it means.” and “God’s grace is what gets me into heaven, so my works are not required.”
This is a large problem in catechesis in the Church (not just TEC) today. People hear these doctrines, but don’t listen to (or are not told) the truth behind them.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
One area in which we see this “cheap grace” played out is divorce and remarriage. Despite Jesus’ strictures that remarriage constitutes adultery (ongoing adultery, according to the Greek), many people believe God’s grace “releases” them from their originial covenant marriage and authorizes a second marriage. Instead, it is God’s grace that enables us to persevere even when a covenant marriage is difficult.
Dallas Willard is absolutely right. His books, “Divine Conspirarcy” and “Renovation Of The Heart” are superb-the best books on discipleship I have ever read and personally life changing for me. Another one on this theme is “The Great Omission” The church seems to be divided into two camps according to Willard. One is the church on the left which says that doctrine is not that important, but that the Social Gospel is the goal and aim of the church. Personal transformation as in being transformed into the image of Christ from the inside out-is not stressed. The church on the right says that as long as I intellectually assent to doctrine I have a bar code to get into heaven, but personal discipleship is optional. Neither of these approaches-from the church on the left and the church on the right- is in keeping with the words of Jesus the Lord nor of the Apostle Paul.. IMO
Thanks for posting the quote. I haven’t found too many people who apprecaite Dallas Willard. I think a number of people have read him, but I don’t run into them in church circles.
Also, in “The Divine Conspirarcy” willard has a great phrase which says that we are to engage in a “curriculum for Christlikeness” which is systematic program of spiritual disciplines under the direction of the Holy Spirit. I appreciate that approach.