Eaves Dropping

OK… So… I don’t normally try to eavesdrop on other people’s conversations. But yesterday, in the restaurant, I just happened to hear an incredible story I can’t seem to get out of my mind.

So while I was eating breakfast, a very distinguished gentleman walked in all dressed in a very nice suit. He sat In the booth right behind me with two other people who were already there. They started talking about his weekend adventures, which involved flying to the wedding of his niece. He mentioned to these folks that, just before flying back home, he was confronted by his sister, the mother of the bride, for being so stingy with a gift he gave his niece. His sister was very upset with him because all he had given the bride for a bridal gift was $50.

Here’s where the story gets interesting…

This gentleman explained to his sister that what he had actually given his niece for a gift was a very rare $50 gold piece. He explained to his niece in the card  he included with the gold piece, the value of the coin and why he was giving it to her as an investment. The bride had thrown the card away without reading the explanation of the coin and only saw the value for what was printed on the coin… $50. Actually…  the coin, being so rare, was currently valued at $5,000!

Boom! Then it hit me!

That’s what we do with “grace“ given to us by God, which cannot be measured in value, and mix it with the law.

The core issue

God’s grace means unearned favor—you’re accepted by God not because of what you do, but because of what He’s done. The problem with “mixing grace with the law” is that it subtly turns salvation back into something you earn or maintain.

How the religious system “cheapens” grace

1. It adds conditions to a free gift

Instead of grace being fully given, the system says:

“Yes, God saves you… but you also need to follow these rules to really be accepted.”

That turns grace into a partial payment plan, not a gift.

In Galatians, Paul the Apostle pushes back hard on this—especially against requiring things like circumcision or strict law-keeping for salvation.

2. It shifts focus from God’s work to human effort

Grace says: God did it.

Law-based thinking says: God did His part, now you do yours.

That shift makes your standing with God depend on your performance, which:

• creates pride (“I’m doing better than others”), or

• creates anxiety (“I’m not doing enough”)

Either way, grace gets diluted.

3. It undermines the sufficiency of Christ

If obedience to the law is still required to be right with God, then what Jesus Christ accomplished isn’t seen as fully enough.

That’s why Paul says in Galatians 2:21 (paraphrased idea):

If righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.

That’s a strong statement—mixing the two doesn’t just “balance” things, it actually contradicts grace at its core.

4. It turns relationship into a system

Grace invites a relationship with God.

Law-based systems tend to turn that into:

• checklists

• rituals

• external performance

So instead of living from acceptance, people start working for acceptance.

A simple way to see it

• Grace alone: “You’re accepted → now live differently because of it.”

• Grace + law mix: “Live differently → so you can stay accepted.”

That flip is where grace gets “cheapened.”

Why this still matters today

This isn’t just ancient history—it shows up anytime people think:

• “God loves me more when I’m doing well”

• “I have to earn my way back when I mess up”

That mindset quietly reintroduces law into grace.

Going back to my story of the gold piece. The government… The law of the land… had stamped a value on this coin that said it was worth $50. This is what the law does to the priceless value of God’s amazing grace. It attempts to place a price on something that has unlimited value.

God‘s amazing grace! Don’t cheapen in it… Just live in it!