Dietrich Bonhoeffer s Cost of Discipleship (Shepherd s notes)
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The price to be paid... - Dietrich Bonhoeffer was one who knew of that which he spoke when dealing with the issue of cheap grace versus costly grace. Bonhoeffer s commitment to the principles of his vocation and being cost him his life - executed in the closing days of World War II, Bonhoeffer walked a dangerous path through exercising his vocation faithfully in the midst of the twin evils of warfare and Nazi domination of Germany. Bonhoeffer s life, from the earliest days, probably seemed like it was set on an idyllic path - the son of a professional family with strong roots in a prosperous and civilised culture, Bonhoeffer would seem to have `had it made . His early days in school showed him to be a minister and academic of great promise. However, his experiences at Union Seminary in New York City, an academic environment very different from the German academy, and at the Abyssian Baptist Church, an African-American congregation, vastly different from his Germanic Lutheran background, prepared a way for Bonhoeffer to expand beyond his upbringing and learning to become someone striving to find God in all people, and the will of God in all that he did. The subject of this book is grace - too often, in Bonhoeffer s day and our own, people seem to look at grace as something free, instead of something freely offered. Bonhoeffer points out that the call of God and the gift of God s grace is not to be taken lightly - `the call to follow Jesus always leads to death . This may seem an unusual call in our day, after all, the more prosperous of our churches would seem to espouse a conventionally respectable lifestyle (far from the `death Bonhoeffer speaks about) as the reward for following God. However, Bonhoeffer uses the example of the disciples, each of whom faced martyrdom, as did many early Christian leaders, as a touchstone for the vocation. Bonhoeffer also gives a great deal of attention in this text to the Sermon on the Mount, providing interpretations that still speak to congregations today, but also with warnings. Bonhoeffer admonishes those who would pick and choose the parts of scripture, or indeed the parts of the Sermon on the Mount, that fit what they want to hear, disregarding the rest. Bonhoeffer writes that we are not called to interpret, but to obey, giving ourselves up to God, as the disciples did, as martyrs did, and as Bonhoeffer himself would do in the fullness of his lifetime. This edition of Bonhoeffer s great work is prefaced by his friend, Bishop G.K.A. Bell of Chichester, a friend and admirer of Bonhoeffer, who states that, `Dietrich himself was a martyr many times before he died . There is also a memoir provided by G. Leibholz, which puts the text in historical context. However, the real substance of the book is in Bonhoeffer s own words. Cheap grace was the deadly enemy of the church then, and it remains a dangerous foe to this day.
Simple faith conquers all - This short book can easily double over as a christian devotional. Written with Nazi Germany and the holocaust in the background it points the christian on the road that may cost us our very lives. From the writing of this book we can clearly see the true cost of being a christian and the true glory in lifting our own cross of grief and pain.
read it if you dare, live it if you have the guts! - This book is not theory or personal speculation. It has Truth at it s very heart.It is about living out the words of Jesus in a totally uncompromising way. It is about daring to live and speak truth. Bonhoeffer presents the real picture of what it means to carry the cross on a daily basis. Yet inspite of his somewhat black and whiteness of true discipleship he encourages us that it all possible through God s grace. If you want to be a different Christian who dares to live out a different life this book is for you. Absoulutely wonderful.
Life changing! - Every page of this book has me reaching for my Bible or praying - this book will challenge you to shake off all complacency and start taking up the cross to follow Christ. If you re comfortable where you are with God, forget it, if you really want God, then this book is a mustread!
In light of Jesus, nothing else matters! - Bonhoeffer explains clearly what I knew to be true better than I could ever comprehend myself. I felt that someone was explaining to me why I believed what I did for the first time. Ceaselessly, Bonhoeffer speaks of absolute adherance to Jesus and the grace it is that we can experience that. This book is amazing.