The Grace Message and Being a Disciple of Jesus Christ

by Eldon DeBoer

Someone has said, “Salvation is free, but discipleship is very costly.” How true. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is primarily about learning how to apply His teachings in life. And you don’t have to read very much in the New Testament to realize how high the standards are that Jesus has called people to live by in His Word. (For example, how about “love your enemies.”) But why should we want to live by His Word? Why should we pay the price of discipleship?

While our deliverance from sin and death is a gift to us from the hand of God received by believing in Jesus Christ, it cost God the horrible agony of the Son’s suffering on the cross where He paid the penalty for our sins. Being saved from sin and death is free to us but very costly to God. The love of God shown us in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ is what the grace message is all about. This message of grace should be the main motivator for good works in the life of a believer. It should be the main motivator to be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ in the sacrifice of time and personal assets for the benefit of others. Since the Lord Jesus laid down His life for them so that they could enjoy Him and a fantastic future forever, believers in Him are called by Him to lay down their lives for Him and for one another (1 John 1:1-4; 3:16; 4:19).

Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 15:9-10, “For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” It was the grace of God that moved Paul to be a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ in ministering to others. He was well aware of how undeserving He was. But Jesus had revealed Himself and His love and grace to Paul. Because Paul had a deep appreciation for the grace gifts the Lord had given to Him, he served Him faithfully as His disciple. This application of the message of grace is often repeated in Paul’s letters.

Titus is a personal Spirit-inspired letter from Paul. Read Titus, chapter 2, and take note especially of the explanatory connective “For” in verse eleven. Why should believers of all ages and stations in life apply the word of God in their life? Because “the grace of God has appeared” in the person and work of the Lord Jesus. And His grace trains or instructs us to “deny ungodliness” and live “righteously and godly.” We are to live out the truth because the grace message of Jesus Christ has taught and trained us to do so. The word translated “teaching” or “instructing” in Titus 2:12 is paideuo in the original Greek text, from which the word pedagogy is derived. Yes, as God’s children, we are trained by the grace message of Jesus Christ and therefore we should want to apply His Word in our life.

Essentially it comes down to this: Since Jesus Christ has shown us how much He loves us by dying in our place, paying the awful penalty for our sin that we deserved to pay, we should be His faithful disciples. And He will give us the strength by His grace to apply His Word (Philippians 4:13).