Chapter 1 - Costly Grace
Bonhoeffer begins the book with powerful statements about grace and contrasts “cheap grace” and “costly grace”.
What is cheap grace and costly grace?
“Cheap grace is not the kind of forgiveness of sin which frees us from the toils of sin.”
“Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance.”
“Cheap grace is grace without discipleship.”
“Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock.”
“Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ.”
“It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life.”
“It is costly because it because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner.”
“...it is costly because it cost God the life of His Son..., and what cost God much cannot be cheap for us.”
How would you define the contrast between the two?
Can you identify any examples of cheap grace in today’s church?
What are the “costs” of cheap grace?
Cheap grace weakens the church.
“...the collapse of the organized Church is only the inevitable consequence of our policy of making grace available to all at too low a cost.”
Does this mean that church is just for “excellent” Christians?
What, according to Bonhoeffer, is the most urgent problem that the church faces? Is this still true today?
The problem, as stated by Bonhoeffer, is this: “How can we live the Christian life in the modern world?”
How can we live in the world without being of the world?
Does meeting Jesus Christ result in a “death”? Whose?
Meeting Jesus results either in death of our old self or in death of Jesus. If our old self does not die, then Jesus does not live. Grace is going to cost.
Why is there no “middle way” of encountering Jesus?
Given this stark choice, why do so many of us still choose to encounter Jesus?
Does it seem that Bonhoeffer may be suggesting a new “phariseeism”, a new set of laws or rules that must be followed in order to be a “true” Christian?
Rom 3:23-24 MSG
(23) Since we've compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us,
(24) God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we're in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.
Rom 3:23-24 ESV
(23) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
(24) and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
Eph 2:8-9 ESV
(8) For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
(9) not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Eph 2:8-9 MSG
(8) Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It's God's gift from start to finish!
(9) We don't play the major role. If we did, we'd probably go around bragging that we'd done the whole thing!
These passages assure us that the grace of God is free. We do not need to and cannot “pay” for God’s grace or do anything to earn it. What is the distinction between this free grace and Bonhoeffers “cheap grace”?
Phi 3:7-14 ESV
(7) But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
(8) Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
(9) and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith--
(10) that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
(11) that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
(12) Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
(13) Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
(14) I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
In putting his faith in Christ, what price had Paul paid? What had he given up? What had he “died” to?
Saul was a Pharisee. Saul had been a firm, loyal defender of the Law. We have to assume that one who defended the law with the zeal of Saul must have also followed the Law and from that had some assurance of his standing with God. Why did Paul now regard those prior qualifications as “rubbish”?
As you have grown with Christ, what former reasons for pride do you now consider “rubbish”?
How do verses 10 and 11 illustrate “costly grace”?
What further price was Paul willing to pay in order to participate more fully in Christ?
What motivated Paul to continue in his Christian life?
How do those motivations compare with what motivates you in your Christian life?
The religious credentials of Saul was what Bonhoeffer would call “the grace we bestow on ourselves.” Do we take pride in our religious credentials?
How are you tempted to congratulate yourself in the areas of:
ritual observance?
Christian heritage?
accomplishments?
Chapter 2 - The Call to Discipleship
Mar 2:14 ESV
(14) And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him.
What was Levi’s response to Jesus’ call?
What happened between Jesus’ call and Levi’s response?
What does the life of discipleship include? What is the established program or way of life that is required of a disciple?
According to Bonhoeffer, what is the one and only requirement of discipleship?
“...there is no road to faith or discipleship, no other road - only obedience to the call of Jesus.”
Jesus said to Levi, “Follow me”. Following Jesus is the content for discipleship. This request points to the fact that there is no content for discipleship in the sense of an established program for a particular way of life.
What does it mean to “follow” Jesus?
Bonhoeffer wrote:
“when we are called to follow Christ, we are summoned to an exclusive attachment to his person”
Describe this attachment.
In our lives, what other attachments threaten our “exclusive” attachment to Christ?
Most Christians find some attachments (family, work, church, country) absolutely legitimate and even a part of our discipleship. How do we fit these into their proper place with the “exclusive” attachment to Christ?
What does the United Methodist Church require of members?
Basically the requirement of the UMC of members is stated in the vows:
Will you be loyal to the United Methodist Church and uphold it by your prayers, your presence, your gifts, and your service?
Does this fulfill the call to follow Jesus?
Bonhoeffer wrote that abstract ideas, knowledge about Christianity, and doctrinal statements make discipleship “superfluous” and even “positively exclude discipleship”. Why is genuine discipleship so opposed to an abstract version of Christianity?
Recently Steve Manskar, Director of Accountable Discipleship at the UMC General Board of Discipleship wrote that Bonhoeffer’s description of cheap grace:
...is a fairly accurate description of most United Methodist congregations today. If you are shocked by this, I invite you to consider the expectations of membership in your local congregation. How does the congregation equip and help its members remain faithful to their baptismal covenant? Is there an intentional system to help members grow and mature as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ? Is there even an expectation that each member will be taught and equipped for the practices of discipleship.......? My experience, as a life-long Methodist/United Methodist, is that we have very low expectations of membership. We give little more than lip service to the baptismal covenant. The result is that most local congregations are little more than social clubs with a religious veneer. There is no expectation that faith will increase, hope in Christ will be confirmed, or that you or I will be perfected in love.
In spite of what the Baptismal covenant states, the real expectations of membership are that a person attend Sunday morning worship when it is convenient and, most important, that they make regular financial contributions to the church’s budget. Consequently, membership in the church is seen more as a benefit than an obligation; more as an entitlement than as a commitment to service and obedience.
Cheap grace is killing the church. If we ever hope to turn around decades of decline we must repent of this insidious way of “doing church.”
Bonhoeffer stated that the only true relation we can have with Jesus is to follow him. What are false ways we try to relate to Jesus?
Bonhoeffer:
Christianity without the living Christ is inevitably Christianity without discipleship, and Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.
Bonhoeffer asserted that if one is to follow Christ he or she must take certain definite steps. The first step takes the disciple out of the old situation and into a new situation where faith is possible. Bonhoeffer used this section of Chapter 2 to defend his position against those who might say that he was promoting salvation through works.
Can we say then that there is a sequence to discipleship and that the sequence goes in the order of faith first, then obedience?
Bonhoeffer certainly believed the Bible teaches that we are justified by faith. There is a problem, though, according to Bonhoeffer when we try to come up with a sequential distinction between faith and , later, obedience. According to Bonhoeffer we must not separate the two. In order to do so we must ask the questions: when does faith start and when does obedience start?
Only he who believes is obedient, and only he who is obedient believes.
Faith is only real when we obey. Bonhoeffer believed that faith becomes faith when we obey.
What is considered the first step of discipleship?
The first step is the call of Jesus. We cannot take the first step on our own. Faith is NOT the first step.
Peter knows he dare not climb out of the ship in his own strength - his very first step would be his undoing. And so he cries, “Lord, bid me come to thee upon the waters,” and Jesus answers: “Come.” Christ must first call him......This call is his grace, which calls him out of death into the new life of obedience. But when Christ has called him, Peter has no alternative - he must leave the ship and come to him....the first step of obedience proves to be an act of faith in the word of Christ. But we should completely misunderstand the nature of grace if we suppose that there was no need to take the first step, because faith was already there. Against that we must boldly assert that the step of obedience must be taken before faith can be possible. Unless he obeys, a man cannot believe.
Bonhoeffer continues his thoughts on obedience in Chapter 3 - Single-Minded Obedience.
After reminding us of the examples from chapter 2 - Levi, the rich young man, and Peter - Bonhoeffer wrote:
Only one thing was required in each case - to rely on Christ’s word, and cling to it as offering greater security than all the securities in the world.
What are some forces that come between the word of Christ and our obedience?
Are these forces as great as, greater than, or not as great as those faced by the biblical examples in Chapter 2?
The examples that Bonhoeffer gave are: reason, conscience, responsibility, piety, even the law and scriptural authority.
What removes the barriers?
The call of Jesus followed by obedience.
Bonhoeffer mentions “antinomianism” and “enthusiasms”. Does everyone understand these terms?
John Wesley would have appreciated the inclusion of these as he preached against both.
Antinomianism is the belief that those saved by grace are freed from any scriptural or moral laws and that salvation is obtained solely through faith and the gift of grace. Antinomianism is the polar opposite of legalism. Antinomianism has been largely rejected by the Christian community as a whole.
Enthusiasts are those who claim the inspiration of the Holy Spirit as the true source of religious authority above scripture, the creeds, and tradition. Enthusiasm is synonymous with fanaticism. John Wesley claimed that enthusiasm was a “species of madness” or a psychological disorder and claimed that pride leads to enthusiasm and enthusiasm leads to antinomianism.
Bonhoeffer says:
The... call of Jesus and the response of single-minded obedience have an irrevocable significance. By means of them Jesus calls people into an actual situation where faith is possible...it is only through actual obedience that a man can become liberated to believe.
An antinomian would likely say that simple-minded obedience is legalism.
Bonhoeffer’s response:
Struggling against the legalism of simple obedience, we end by setting up the most dangerous law of all, the law of the world and the law of grace. In our effort to combat legalism we land ourselves in the worst kind of legalism. The only way of overcoming this legalism is by real obedience to Christ when he calls us to follow him; for in Jesus the law is at once fulfilled and cancelled.
By eliminating simple obedience on principle, we drift into an unevangelical interpretation of the Bible.....the commandments of Jesus always includes the literal translation...Obedience to the call of Jesus never lies within our own power. If, for instance, we give away all our possessions, that act is not in itself the obedience to Jesus, for we might then be choosing a way of life for ourselves, some Christian ideal, or some ideal of Fransiscan poverty. Indeed in the very act of giving away his goods a man can give allegiance to himself and to an ideal and not to the command of Jesus. He is not set free from his own self but still more enslaved to himself. The step into the situation where faith is possible is not an offer which we can make to Jesus, but always his gracious offer to us......
Salvation through following Jesus is not something we men can achieve for ourselves - but with God all things are possible.
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