The following are large quotes and snippets from Bonhoeffer’s Cost of Discipleship, pages 45 – 49. A few thoughts afterward.

“Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our Church. We are fighting today for costly grace… Cheap grace means grace as a doctrine, a principle, a system. It means forgiveness of sins proclaimed as a general truth, the love of God taught as the Christian ‘conception’ of God. An intellectual assent to that idea is held to be of itself sufficient to secure remission of sins…. In such a Church the world finds a cheap covering for its sins; no contrition is required, still less any real desire to be delivered from sin. Cheap grace therefore amounts to a denial of the living Word of God, in fact, a denial of the Incarnation of the Word of God.

“Cheap grace means the justification of sin without the justification of the sinner. Grace alone does everything they say, and so everything can remain as it was before. ‘All for sin could not atone.’ Well, then, let the Christian live like the rest of the world, let him model himself on the world’s standards in every sphere of life, and not presumptuously aspire to live a different life under grace from his old life under sin….

“Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession…. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.

“Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man’ will gladly go and self all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble, it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.

“Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and 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 condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: “ye were bought at a price,” and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.

“Costly grace is the sanctuary of God; it has to be protected from the world, and not thrown to the dogs. It is therefore the living word, the Word of God, which he speaks as it pleases Him. Costly grace confronts us as a gracious call to follow Jesus. It comes as a word of forgiveness to the broken spirit and the contrite heart. Grace is costly because it compels a man to submit to the yoke of Christ and follow him; it is grace because Jesus says: “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

“On two separate occasions Peter received the call, “Follow me.” It was the first and last word Jesus spoke to his disciple (Mark 1.17; John 21.22). A whole life lies between these two calls. The first occasion was by the lake of Gennesareth, when Peter left his nets and his craft and followed Jesus at his word. The second occasion is when the Risen Lord finds him back again at his old trade. Once again it is by the lake of Gennesareth, and once again the call is: “Follow me.” Between the two calls lay a whole life of discipleship in the following of Christ. Half-way between them comes Peter’s confession, when he acknowledged Jesus as the Christ of God…

“This grace was certainly not self-bestowed. It was the grace of Christ himself, now prevailing upon the disciple to leave all and follow him, now working in him that confession which to the world must sound like the ultimate blasphemy, now inviting Peter to the supreme fellowship of martyrdom for the Lord he had denied, and thereby forgiving him all his sins. In the life of Peter grace and discipleship are inseparable. He had received the grace which costs.

“As Christianity spread, and the Church became more secularized, this realization of the costliness of grace gradually faded. The world was Christianized, and grace became its common property. It was to be had at low cost.”

I’ve been enjoying tremendously the Bonhoeffer biography by Eric Metaxas, and in an effort to get a clearer picture of the man and his theology, I’m revisiting some of his other works. Given Bonhoeffer’s primary theological thrusts, coming to grasps with “costly/cheap grace” is clearly an important place to start. And as with so many other aspects of Bonhoeffer, it leaves me flummoxed.

There is a lot that I find challenging, biblical, and exciting in Bonhoeffer’s discussion of grace. I have been impressed about how he can speak about Scripture and the onus it places on our lives (I had thought of him as having a more neo-orthodox view of Scripture, something that I have yet to find substantiated). I am challenged an encouraged by how he reminds me of the costs our Lord places on those who take up their cross and follow Him.

But there are also aspects that make me worry. Even while trying to accomplish something I admire – demonstrating the cost of discipleship – I’m concerned there are times Bonhoeffer takes away with the left hand (“costly”) what he is trying to give with the right (“grace”). Can grace ever be costly to the subject receiving it? Surely, discipleship can be. And there is a very close relationship between grace and discipleship; yet they are not the same.

When Bonhoeffer makes very Christ-centered statements such as, “If we worry about the dangers that beset us, if we gaze at the road instead of at him who goes before, we are already straying from the path,” I nod and shout my “amen.” But there are other aspects that leave me hesitant. Even in the pages quoted above, there were sections that I felt were less than helpful (he speaks derogatorily of “Grace is represented as the Church’s inexhaustible treasury, from which she showers blessings with generous hands, without asking questions or fixing limits. Grace without price; grace without cost! The essence of grace, we suppose, is that the account has been paid in advance; and, because it has been paid, everything can be had for nothing”). In the time ahead to consider Bonhoeffer’s teachings, I’ll be thinking a lot about law/gospel and indicative/imperative. Perhaps some of the language that makes me uncomfortable is merely due to the difference of situations (I am not fighting for my life in a corrupt, state church with a demonized maniac running the country), or denomination. But I’ll want to strive to think very closely about this going forward.

What about you? Does Bonhoeffer’s language strike you as off, biblical, or something entirely else? What does cheap grace teach you?