by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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With growing parallels to a time when many professing Christians lent their support through voice or silence to a nationalist movement of favoritism for some and deadly demonization and scapegoating of others, this monumental call to discipleship rings true.
Although originally published in 1937, the writings of Christian martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German theologian and minister, are timely and applicable.
“Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate,” wrote Bonhoeffer, who was executed by Nazis in 1945 at age 39.
In contrast, he writes, “costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a [person] must knock.Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ.”
Yet cheap grace continues to be dispensed and consumed in the present time when affirming selective beliefs has replaced the emphasis on following Jesus,
Drawing from Jesus’ seminal teachings known as the Sermon on the Mount, Bonhoeffer’s insights and example speak clearly to what it means to be a disciple.
Many scholars and even family members have noted the recent misrepresentations of Bonhoeffer advanced by author and radio host Eric Metaxas. For those seeking more insight into the martyr’s life, A Strange Glory: A Life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Charles Marsh, is recommended.
Review by John D. Pierce, Director of the Jesus Worldview Initiative