The High Cost of a Free Gift
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A Refutation of Easy-Believism
Many today claim that salvation is merely about believing in Jesus, without self-denial or true repentance.
While it is true that salvation is a free gift, it is also true that following Christ costs everything (Luke 14:25-33).
Easy-believism presents a false gospel by affirming only half the truth—it preaches salvation as a gift but denies the necessity of repentance and surrender.
This sermon will expose the errors of easy-believism by examining:
1: The cost of discipleship.
2: The sinful heart’s natural resistance to salvation.
3: The error of assuming an immediate response equals true faith.
1. Salvation Is a Free Gift, But It Costs Everything
1. Salvation Is a Free Gift, But It Costs Everything
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Salvation is by grace through faith, not works.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Eternal life is a free gift, not something we earn.
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25 Now large crowds were going along with Him, and He turned and said to them,
26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.
27 Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
28 For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it?
29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who are watching it will begin to ridicule him,
30 saying, ‘This person began to build, and was not able to finish!’
31 Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to face the one coming against him with twenty thousand?
32 Otherwise, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and requests terms of peace.
33 So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.
Jesus demands complete surrender, counting the cost before following Him.
20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
The Christian life is a death to self, where Christ lives in us.
23 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
Daily self-denial and cross-bearing is required.
Key Point:
The gospel is free, but it is not cheap.
True faith requires repentance, surrender, and transformation.
2. Before Salvation, We Were Not Seeking God
2. Before Salvation, We Were Not Seeking God
The Flesh Is Naturally Resistant to Salvation
The Flesh Is Naturally Resistant to Salvation
10 as it is written: “There is no righteous person, not even one;
11 There is no one who understands, There is no one who seeks out God;
12 they have All turned aside, together they have become Corrupt; There is no one who does good, There is not even one.”
No one seeks after God.
14 But a natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
The gospel is foolishness to those who are perishing.
19 And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light; for their deeds were evil.
20 For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light, so that his deeds will not be exposed.
Men love darkness rather than light.
16 Do you not know that the one to whom you present yourselves as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of that same one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?
17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were entrusted,
We were slaves to sin, content in our bondage.
Key Point:
Easy-believism presents sinners as desperate for salvation, but the Bible says we were blind, enslaved, and resistant to God’s truth.
There Is No Sackcloth-Tearing, Godly Sorrow Repentance
There Is No Sackcloth-Tearing, Godly Sorrow Repentance
Easy-believism ignores the biblical call to deep, broken repentance before God.
12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “Return to Me with all your heart, And with fasting, weeping, and mourning;
13 And tear your heart and not merely your garments.” Now return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in mercy And relenting of catastrophe.
10 For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, God, You will not despise.
13 But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to raise his eyes toward heaven, but was beating his chest, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’
8 Come close to God and He will come close to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
9 Be miserable, and mourn, and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into gloom.
Key Point:
Easy-believism removes godly sorrow from repentance and replaces it with a casual, shallow acknowledgment of sin.
True salvation involves a deep realization of our wretchedness before a holy God.
There Is No “Israel-Like” Groaning in Easy-Believism
There Is No “Israel-Like” Groaning in Easy-Believism
True salvation means being freed from sin, but the flesh does not instantly stop longing for its old ways.
4 Now the rabble who were among them had greedy cravings; and the sons of Israel also wept again and said, “Who will give us meat to eat?
5 We remember the fish which we used to eat for free in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic;
6 but now our appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this manna!”
Israel was freed from Egypt but still longed for the comforts of slavery.
17 For the desire of the flesh is against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, in order to keep you from doing whatever you want.
The flesh wars against the Spirit.
Easy-believism ignores this ongoing struggle and falsely teaches that saying a prayer is the end of the journey.
Key Point:
True salvation is not just about being freed from sin’s penalty—it requires daily self-denial and resisting the flesh’s desires.
Many Who Followed Jesus Initially Were Not Truly Saved
Many Who Followed Jesus Initially Were Not Truly Saved
The Parable of the Sower Shows That Many “Follow” Without True Surrender
The Parable of the Sower Shows That Many “Follow” Without True Surrender
5 Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and they sprang up immediately, because they had no depth of soil.
6 But after the sun rose, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
The seed on stony ground sprang up quickly but withered away.
7 Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out.
The seed among thorns grew but was choked by the world.
20 The one sown with seed on the rocky places, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;
21 yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution occurs because of the word, immediately he falls away.
Some receive the Word with joy but fall away when trials come.
Key Point:
Easy-believism focuses on an initial decision, but Jesus taught that only those who endure prove to be true disciples.
True Salvation Is Marked by Endurance, Not Just an Initial Decision
True Salvation Is Marked by Endurance, Not Just an Initial Decision
62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly My disciples;
19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be evident that they all are not of us.
Key Point:
A moment of enthusiasm does not prove true faith—only perseverance does.
Many Who “Immediately Followed” Jesus Later Left Him
Many Who “Immediately Followed” Jesus Later Left Him
66 As a result of this many of His disciples left, and would no longer walk with Him.
Many disciples left Jesus when He taught hard truths.
50 And His disciples all left Him and fled.
Even the Twelve forsook Him and fled when persecution came.
Judas Iscariot – Followed Jesus for years but ultimately betrayed Him.
Key Point:
Many start the journey, but only true disciples finish it.
Conclusion: The Call to Count the Cost
Conclusion: The Call to Count the Cost
Salvation is free, but following Christ requires surrender and self-denial.
The natural man does not seek God—our flesh resists salvation.
Many people respond to the gospel emotionally but fall away when trials come.
True faith endures and bears fruit.
Closing Challenge
1: Have you counted the cost of following Christ?
2: Are you daily denying yourself and carrying your cross?
3: Is your faith marked by endurance, or was it just an emotional decision?
33 So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.
