Time for a Pendulum Correction

A few years back, I was talking with one of my in-laws who is also a former-professional-minister-turned-house-church-planter about what motivated his decision to pursue the church planting model. Among other things, he mentioned that he felt the typical church in America today was not doing a very good job of teaching people to "obey" Jesus. On the surface, this language sounds like much of what I consider "legalism", yet knowing this brother as I do, I was fully aware that he was by no means a legalist. As our conversation progressed, I began to realize that he was advocating not a doctrine of salvation by works, but a genuine doctrine of working faith. Countless others have pointed this out already, but there was a time when the doctrine of grace needed to be restored to the American pulpit--at least to the pulpits in Churches of Christ.

Today, however, I think that any sober-minded assessment of what gets preached as our calling, and what gets tolerated and/or "winked at" within our behaviors, suggests that it is time to correct an out-of-balance notion of grace. (What Bonhoeffer would have called "cheap grace".) These were the thoughts that flooded my mind as I read the following passage from Jeremiah:

The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, “Remind the people of Judah and Jerusalem about the terms of My covenant with them. Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Cursed is anyone who does not obey the terms of My covenant! For I said to your ancestors when I brought them out of the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt, “If you obey Me and do whatever I command you, then you will be My people, and I will be your God.” I said this so I could keep My promise to your ancestors to give you a land flowing with milk and honey—the land you live in today.’”
Then I replied, “Amen, Lord! May it be so.”

Then the Lord said, “Broadcast this message in the streets of Jerusalem. Go from town to town throughout the land and say, ‘Remember the ancient covenant, and do everything it requires. For I solemnly warned your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, “Obey Me!” I have repeated this warning over and over to this day, but your ancestors did not listen or even pay attention. Instead, they stubbornly followed their own evil desires. And because they refused to obey, I brought upon them all the curses described in this covenant.’”
-- Jeremiah 11:1-8