Tell people about the grace of God and you’ll experience trouble. Guaranteed. And much of this trouble will come from religious people who claim to know God. (Fret not. It happened to Jesus.) 

Here are eight ways that you may pay a high price for preaching free grace:

👉 1. Preach grace and you will encounter intimidation

You will be told that you are confused and in error. You’re unbalanced. You don’t know the scriptures and the whole counsel of God. You’re too young. You haven’t been to Bible School. You don’t know how to parse Greek verbs. How could you possibly know more than the man of God?

👉 2. Preach grace and you will be condemned by those who don’t see it

You will be warned, scorned and rebuked. You will be hit with Jude 1:4 again and again and told you are leading people to hell.

Thinking they are doing the Lord’s work, leaders will name and shame you from their pulpits. Some of them will write books and articles about you. You’ll be called a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a snake, a Jezebel, an instrument of Satan, an antichrist.

(Sidebar: For preaching grace, I was derisively called “a Baptist”! Shout out to all my Baptist friends!)

👉 3. Preach grace and you will be rejected

Bet your life on grace and you will be shunned by those who are trusting in works.

Since you represent a threat to their merit-based system, you will be labeled divisive – which is the religious equivalent of wearing a scarlet letter. You’ll be marginalized, ostracized and asked to leave. Although you will be enjoying the Lord’s acceptance, you’ll be rejected by people you care about.

👉 4. Preach grace and it will cost you opportunities to minister

You’ll be kicked off the worship team, the preaching team, and the hospitality team. Having fallen into “heresy”, you’ll be asked to take time off to assess your position.

People will promise to pray for you as though you were lost and in need of saving. Fail to toe the line and you’ll become radioactive. You’ll be discussed in private meetings and emails. Doors will close. Calls will not get returned.

👉 5. Preach grace and it will cost your reputation

Jesus was slandered, Paul was slandered, and you’ll be slandered. (You’re in good company!) You’ll be labelled licentious, anti-law and a closet sinner. You’ll be dismissed as hyper-grace, as though that were a bad thing.

👉 6. Preach grace and it will cost you money

If you used to preach tithing as an obligation and now you don’t, your church’s income may go down. It shouldn’t, but it might.

Stop telling people they have to buy protection or provision from God, and they might use their money for other things, like rent and groceries. You may have to rethink your finances. You might have to get a second job.

👉 7. Trust grace and you may have trouble trusting Christians

You may find it hard going to church because you can no longer tolerate toxic churchianity. You can no longer sing the faithless songs of longing or listen to messages that put price tags on blessings Jesus paid for. Although you crave the family life that church should be known for, you’re turned off by the constant calls for more.

👉 8. Trust grace and it may cost you your family

Grace has made many marriages and families stronger, but it’s also true that some marriages and families have been strained by this message. Truth is divisive. When some people receive it while others don’t, the result can be painful.

God’s grace is amazing – it is the best news in the world. His grace is 100% free, yet you may pay a price for it. This cost is never charged by the Lord; it is levied by those who don’t fully appreciate all that Jesus did for us‼️