Costly Grace

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By Dietrich Bonhoeffer on January 1, 2010 ,

Costly Grace

We devalue our calling to discipleship when we settle for a cheap grace.

DIETRICH BONHOEFFER (1906-1945) was a German pastor and theologian whose courageous and outspoken opposition to the Nazis led to his arrest by the Gestapo in -1943. During two years in prisons and concentration camps, he ministered to his fellow Prisoners until his execution by the S.S. in 1945.

Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our church. We are fighting today for costly grace, Cheap grace means grace sold on the market like cheapjacks' wares. The sacraments, the forgiveness of sin, and the consolations of religion are thrown away at cut prices. Grace is represented as the church's inexhaustible treasury, from which she showers blessings with generous hands, without asking questions or fixing limits. the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock (Mt. 7:7-8). . .

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Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Theologian

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, was a German theologian, pastor, seminary teacher and resistance operative against the Nazis during World War II. Dietrich received his doctorate from Berlin University in 1927 and lectured in the theological faculty during the early thirties. He was ordained a Lutheran pastor in 1931 and served in two congregations. Bonhoeffer was also head of the Confessing Church’s seminary at Finkenwalde. Convicted of a conspiracy to assassinate Hitler, he was executed by the Nazi SS in 1945, one month before the Germans surrendered. His most well-known works include The Cost of Discipleship, Life Together, Ethics and Letters and Papers from Prison.

 

Notice: This material is made available for limited use to participants of the C.S. Lewis Institute Fellows programs. Please do not reproduce any of the materials in the Fellows Resources other than for your personal use.

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