Hello brother, I read the entire sermon today and I have to say I was very impressed. That's a powerful sermon, sharp like a two edged sword, I think I'll share it with a friend that is struggling with particular sins. This ought to stir up even the most dulled consciences, and I wholeheartedly agree that even though the Gospel is free, it comes with a very high cost. I love how he combines the two, the free offer of grace to come to Christ, and yet the high price we have to pay to follow Jesus Christ.
But you see this is a price that we actually
can pay. In my own experience, I paid the price to follow Christ, because I saw Him to be worth eternally more than any temporal thing. But I could do so, because Christ enabled me to do so, I had the will and prayed hard to Him to give me the strength. One example for me is smoking, I smoked for about 9 years, and no matter what I tried, I could not quit. I just had no strength to quit
at all, I loved my cigarette too much - it was like a buddy to me. I did give it a few attempts but they all failed within a month. But when I came to faith, I quit at once, because I wanted to follow Christ and live a holy life - and He enabled me to actually do so. It was a price I could pay, I wanted to pay, and He gave me the strength to actually do so. I've quit smoking for 5 years now, and I know I couldn't have done it in my own strength.
But my question is, what happens when free grace leaves this picture, when Christs enabling power leaves it. Then aren't we left with an impossible burden of living a holy life in our own strength? You see that's what I meanth with putting the cart before the horse in one of my previous posts, that's a price we
can't pay. And if that is preached, either openly or implied, it won't bring forth godly fruit to the honour and glory of God. No true converts will come to Jesus Christ in true repentance to live a new life, but what it will do is it will lay upon burdens that are too heavy to carry and create pharisees that try to earn their favour with God in the hope to get to heaven. And if that's the focus, no wonder Evangelism isn't at the top of the priority list.