After his repentance, David was told by the angel of the Lord to build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah (or Ornan) the Jebusite (19), who would have been happy to offer him his property free of charge (23). But David insisted on paying the full price, saying, “I will not take for the Lord what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing” (24).

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German theologian and pastor, defined cheap grace as the idea that people can receive the benefits of Christianity without the cost. We can see that David refused to receive the benefits of forgiveness of sin without the cost. It is true that we are saved by grace through faith (Eph 2:8). But proponents of cheap grace deny, maybe not in words but in practice, that the grace of salvation should accompany discipleship and taking up the cross as well (Lk 14:27).

David paid the full price for the site and built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. And he called on the Lord, and the Lord answered him with fire from heaven (25-26a). Later, this site would become the place where Solomon built the temple of the Lord (22:1).
Application: Father, thank you for sacrificing your one and only Son for my salvation. I accept this unfathomable grace by faith and receive your call to discipleship. Amen.
One Word: Jesus is my Savior and my Lord