Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) was a Lutheran pastor and theologian who was hanged by Nazi Germany after being implicated in a conspiracy to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Despite his brief life of only 39 years, Bonhoeffer’s influence still holds strong in much of Christianity.
“Cheap grace,” Bonhoeffer wrote, “means the justification of sin without the justification of the sinner.” (The Cost of Discipleship, 44) In other words, a misunderstanding of the enormity and richness of God’s grace given to people in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus will lead someone to discount the extent to which Jesus went to save His people. If we don’t experience the crushing weight of discovering the sinfulness of our own souls, coupled with the wonderful, liberating flow of grace, then we’ve missed the entire point of the Gospel. Someone who misunderstands grace will operate their life on the principle that since Jesus has already been punished by God for my sin, then the compulsion for obedience is irrelevant. Bonhoeffer argues streneously against this understanding as missing the core of Christianity completely. In fact, the Gospel is unique in this. Every religion, every ethical system in the world, operates on the principle of, “If I obey, I will be saved/loved/accepted.” The Gospel says, “Because you are saved/loved/accepted, obey.” Christianity drives for right living, too, but the difference is that love born from God allowing Jesus to suffer in our place compels right behavior sheerly from a grateful heart. Religion is a tyrant who rules his kingdom on fear.
I can think of no better way to end this post than with a post by Mr. Bonhoeffer:
“Happy are they who have reached the end of the road we seek to tread, who are astonished to discover the by no means self-evident truth that grace is costly just because it is the grace of God in Jesus Christ. Happy are the simple followers of Jesus Christ who have been overcome by his grace, and are able to sing the praises of the all-sufficient grace of Christ with humbleness of heart. Happy are they who, knowing that grace, can live in the world without being of it, who, by following Jesus Christ, are so assured of their heavenly citizenship that they are truly free to live their lives in this world. Happy are they who know that discipleship simply means the life which springs from grace, and that grace simply means discipleship. Happy are they who have become Christians in this sense of the word. For them the world of grace has proved a fount of mercy.” (Cost, 56)
This is marvelous grace indeed.
i call, i write, i facebook, but nothing from the Tink.