God’s Grace vs. Cheap Grace

by Lenny Cacchio

The spring Holy Days are almost here, a time of year that pictures the sacrifice our Savior made for our sins, his resurrection, and our obligation to put sin out of our lives. Getting sin out of our lives is an important part of the meaning behind the Days of Unleavened Bread, and we symbolically we “act it out” as we prepare for these days. (See “What Is Leavening?” below).

For the past two weeks we have had messages on God’s grace. Without grace none of us would have any hope of salvation. “By grace you are saved through faith and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

But we must also remember that Paul finished the thought in this way: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Verse 10 Emphasis added)

Elsewhere, Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.” (I Corinthians 6:9-10)

So while we are saved by grace, God does not offer cheap grace. He has certain expectations of us. God’s laws are voluntary only in the sense that we have the freedom to make choices, and by wrong choices we can voluntarily forfeit our inheritance in his kingdom! Thankfully, we do have both a Savior and God’s Holy Spirit, the Helper and Comforter, to walk along side us. And of course an understanding of the next Holy Day, Pentecost, addresses that part of the Salvation Story.

I’ll be addressing some of these questions in greater detail in my message on the Last Day of Unleavened Bread.

What is Leavening?

Based on Exodus 12:18-20 and other passages, most Churches of God teach that we are to eat only unleavened bread during the Days of Unleavened Bread. This bread reminds us that Jesus Christ had no sin when he died for us, thereby becoming the Passover Lamb without blemish, and therefore fit as the ultimate sin offering. We remove leavened products from our houses during these days as a reminder that sin should have no place in our lives.

The purpose of this physical act of removing leaven is to get us thinking every day about how leaven (symbolizing sin) can permeate our lives without us even knowing it and that we must be diligent against it.

What is leavening, and what should be put out of our homes?

First, remember that these are the Days of Unleavened Bread, not the Days of Unleavened Toothpaste. If your toothpaste has baking soda in it, don’t worry about it. Also, don’t worry about yogurt. The active ingredient in yogurt is bacteria, not yeast.

The simplest way to see if a product has leavening agents is to read the product’s label. Look for “yeast”, “leavening”, “baking soda”, “baking powder”, and “sodium bicarbonate.” Most crackers and breads have leavening. So do pancake and cake mixes. Some breakfast cereals have leavening. (Grape Nuts and some granolas come to mind). Even some matzos have leavening. Read the labels!

Some generally safe products: Water crackers, corn tortillas (not wheat tortillas), most matzos, triscuits, rye crisp, rice cakes.

If you have any questions about this, please ask.