The Cost of Discipleship
by Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945)
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Note: This book begins with a "Memoir" by G. Leibholz" which describes
Bonhoeffer's faith and martyrdom. You can skip this section and go directly to
the beginning of Bonhoeffer's own message.
Since everything that follows comes from Bonhoeffer's book (except for a few
words in brackets), we have not used quotation marks. The numbers refer to pages
in the 1963 paperback version published by Macmillan.
Because of today's controversy concerning Bonhoeffer's beliefs, I hope to add
some key quotes from his prison letters. I believe his words have been
misunderstood. Bonhoeffer dared to criticize the politicized cultural
"Christianity" of Hitler's Germany (primarily the unbiblical "religious"
legalism, fomalism, and Nazi compromise). He was not, as some have said, a
liberal Christian opposing genuine Christianity. Unfortunately, some
English-speaking interpreters of his German letters have unjustly distorted his
prison-letters and taken certain phrases -- such as "religionless christianity"
-- out of context. To see his genuine love for the whole, unabridged Word of
God, please see Life Together by Bonhoeffer
Together with Martin Niemoller and other founders of the Confessing Church,
Bonhoeffer actively opposed both Hitler's National Socialism and the Nazi
subjugation of churches. Bonhoffer was first arrested for helping Jews escape to
Switzerland. He was executed by hanging at Flossenbürg concentration camp on
April 9, 1945 shortly before its liberation. (See Trapped in Hitler's Hell and
Day of No Return)
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Memoir
"In his hearing before the Gestapo during his imprisonment, defenseless and
powerless as he then was only fortified by the word of God in his heart, he
stood erect and unbroken before his tormentors. He refused to recant, and defied
the Gestapo machine by openly admitting that, as a Christian, he was an
implacable enemy of National Socialism and its totalitarian demands toward the
citizen—defied it, although he was continually threatened with torture and with
the arrest of his parents, his sisters and his fiancée… In 1944, when friends
made an attempt to liberate him and to take him to safety abroad, he decided to
remain in prison in order not to endanger others.
"The last service which Dietrich Bonhoeffer held on the day before his death...
'moved all deeply....'
"Bonhoeffer, who was never tried, went steadfastly on his last way to be hanged,
and died with admirable calmness and dignity. God heard his prayer and granted
him the 'costly grace'—that is, the privilege of taking the cross for others and
of affirming his faith by martyrdom." 26
"How can a man wax arrogant if in this life he shares the suffering of God?" 24
"Both modern liberal theology and secular totalitarianism hold pretty much in
common that the message of the Bible has to be adapted more or less, to the
requirements of a secular world. No wonder, therefore, that the process of
debasing Christianity as by liberal theology led, in the long run, to a complete
perversion and falsification of the essence of Christianity...." 30
A Christian must be prepared, if necessary, to offer his life for this. Thus all
kinds of secular totalitarianism which force man to cast aside his religious and
moral obligations to God and subordinate the laws of justice and morality to the
State are incompatible with his conception of life.…" 31
"The life of the spirit is not that which shuns death and keeps clear of
destruction: rather it endures death and in death it is sustained. It only
achieves its truth in the midst of utter destruction." 33
"In a modern dictatorship, however, with its subterranean ubiquity and
all-embracing instruments of oppression, a revolt means certain death to all who
support it. ... The future in modern society depends much more on the quiet
heroism of the very few who are inspired by God. These few will greatly enjoy
the divine inspiration and will be prepared to stand for the dignity of man and
true freedom and to keep the law of God, even if it means martyrdom or death--
"… because they 'look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which
are unseen; for the things which are seen /are temporal, but the things that are
unseen are eternal." [2 Cor. 4:17-18, 33-34]
"Jesus invites all those that labor and are heavy laden, and nothing could be so
contrary to our best intentions, and so fatal to our proclamation as to drive
men away from him by forcing upon them man-made dogmas. If we did so, we should
make the love of Jesus Christ a laughing-stock to Christians and pagans alike."
39
The Cost of Discipleship
Grace and Discipleship
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. 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.... 45
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. 45-46
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. 47
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....48
way did grace arrest him, the one grace proclaimed in
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. 49
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....49
The Call to Discipleship
"The call goes forth, and is at once followed by the response of obedience. ….
It displays not the slightest interest in the psychological reason for a man’s
religious decisions. And why? For the simple reason that the cause behind the
immediate following of call by response is Jesus Christ Himself." 61
"Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ. It
remains an abstract idea, a myth which has a place for the Fatherhood of God,
but omits Christ as the living Son. … There is trust in God, but no following of
Christ." 64
"He wants to follow, but feels obliged to insist on his own terms to the level
of human understanding. The disciple places himself at the Master’s disposal,
but at the same time retains the right to dictate his own terms. But then
discipleship is no longer discipleship, but a program of our own to be arranged
to suit ourselves, and to be judged in accordance with the standards of rational
ethic." 66
"If we would follow Jesus we must take certain definite steps. The first step,
which follows the call, cuts the disciple off from his previous existence. … The
first step places the disciple in the situation where faith is possible. If he
refuses to follow and stays behind, he does not learn how to believe." 66-67
Discipleship and the Cross
Jesus Christ must suffer and be rejected. (Mark 8:31-38) This 'must' is inherent
in the promise of God—the Scripture must be fulfilled. Here there is a
distinction between suffering and rejection. Had He only suffered, Jesus might
still have been applauded as the Messiah. 95
Jesus is a rejected Messiah. His rejection robs the passion of its halo of
glory. It must be a passion without honor. Suffering and rejection sum up the
whole cross of Jesus. To die on the cross means to die despised and rejected of
men. Suffering and rejection are laid upon Jesus as a divine necessity, and
every attempt to prevent it is the work of the devil, especially when it comes
from his own disciples; for it is in fact an attempt to prevent Christ from
being Christ. (Peter in Matthew 16)
That shows how the very notion of a suffering Messiah was scandal to the Church.
… Peter’s protest displays his own unwillingness to suffer and that means that
Satan has gained entry into the Church, and is trying to tear it away from the
cross of its Lord.
Jesus must therefore make it clear beyond all doubt that the "must" of suffering
applies to his disciples no less than to himself. … Discipleship mean adherence
to the person of Jesus, and therefore submission to the law of Christ which is
the law of the cross. 96 [See John 15:20-21]
When Jesus begins to unfold this inescapable truth to His disciples, He once
more sets them free to choose or reject Him. "If any man would come after me,"
He says. For it is not a matter of course, not even among the disciples. Nobody
can be forced, nobody can even be expected to come. He says rather, "If any man"
is prepared to spurn all other offers which come his way in order to follow Him.
Once again, everything is left for the individual to decide…. 96-97
To deny oneself is to be aware only of Christ and no more of self, to see only
Him who goes before and no more the road which is too hard for us. … All that
self-denial can say is: "He leads the way, keep close to Him."
"…and take up his cross." … Only when we have become completely oblivious of
self are we ready to bear the cross for His sake. If in the end we know only
Him, if we have ceased to notice the pain of our own cross, we are indeed
looking only unto Him. If Jesus had not so graciously prepared us for this word,
we should have found it unbearable. 97
To endure the cross is not a tragedy; it is the suffering which is the fruit of
an exclusive allegiance to Jesus Christ. When it comes, it is not an accident,
but a necessity. … the suffering which is an essential part of the specifically
Christian life.
It is not suffering per se but suffering-and-rejection, and not rejection for
any cause of conviction of our own, but rejection for the sake of Christ. If our
Christianity has ceased to be serious about discipleship, if we have watered
down the gospel into emotional uplift which makes no costly demands and which
fails to distinguish between natural and Christian existence, then we cannot
help regarding the cross as an ordinary everyday calamity… We have then
forgotten that the cross means rejection and shame as well as suffering.
The Psalmist was lamenting that he was despised and rejected of men, and that is
an essential quality of the suffering of the cross. But this notion has ceased
to be intelligible to a Christianity which can no longer see any difference
between an ordinary human life and life committed to Christ. The cross means
sharing the suffering of Christ to the last and to the fullest.
Only a man thus totally committed in discipleship can experience the meaning of
the cross. The cross is there, right from he beginning, he has only got to pick
it up there is no need for him to go out and look for a cross for himself… Every
Christian has his own cross waiting for him, a cross destined and appointed by
God. Each must endure his allotted share of suffering and rejection. 98
But each has a different share: some God deems worthy of the highest form of
suffering, and given them the grace of martyrdom, while others He does not allow
to be tempted above that they are able to bear….
The cross is laid on every Christian. The first Christ-suffering which every man
must experience is the call to abandon the attachments of this world. … we
surrender ourselves to Christ in union with His death—we give over our lives to
death. … When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die. …death in Jesus
Christ, the death of the old man [or nature] at his call. Jesus’ summons to the
rich young man was calling him to die, because only the man who is dead to his
own will can follow Christ. In fact, every command of Jesus is a call to die,
with all our affections and lusts. But we do not want to die…
The call to discipleship… means both death and life… [It] sets the Christian in
the middle of the daily arena against sin and the devil. Every day he encounters
new temptations, and every day he must suffer anew for Jesus Christ’s sake. The
wounds and scars he receives in the fray are living tokens of this participation
in the cross of his Lord. 99
But there is another kind of suffering and shame which the Christian is not
spared. While … only the sufferings of Christ are a means of atonement, yet…the
Christian also has to undergo temptation [and] bear the sins of others; he too
must bear their shame and be driven like a scapegoat from the gates of the city.
(Heb. 13:12-15) …The passion of Christ strengthens him to overcome the sins of
others by forgiving them. "Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law
of Christ. (Gal. 6:2) …
Suffering then is the badge of true discipleship. The disciple is not above his
master… That is why Luther reckoned suffering among the marks of the true
Church… If we refuse to take up our cross and submit to suffering and rejection
at the hands of men, we forfeit our fellowship with Christ and have ceased to
follow Him. But if we lose our lives in His service and carry out cross, we
shall find our lives again in the fellowship of the cross with Christ. The
opposite of discipleship is to be ashamed of Christ and His cross and all the
offense which the cross brings in its train.
Discipleship means allegiance to the suffering Christ… It is a joy and token of
His grace. … Christ transfigures for His own [the early Christian martyrs] the
hour of their moral agony by granting them the unspeakable assurance of His
presence. In the hour of the cruelest torture they bear for His sake, they are
made partakers in the perfect joy and bliss of fellowship with Him. To bear the
cross proves to be the only way of triumphing over suffering. …
Jesus prays to His Father that the cup may pass from Him, and His Father hears
His prayer; for the cup of suffering will indeed pass from Him—but only by His
drinking it. 101
God speaking to Luther: "Discipleship is not limited to what you can
comprehend—it must transcend all comprehension. … Not to know where you are
going is the true knowledge. My comprehension transcends yours. Thus Abraham
went forth from His father… not knowing whither he went. … Behold, that is the
way of the cross. You cannot find it yourself, so you must let me lead you as
though you were a blind man. Wherefore it is not you, no man… but I myself, who
instruct you by my Word and Spirit in the way you should go. Not the work which
you choose, not the suffering you devise, but the road which is clean contrary
to all you choose or contrive or desire—that is the road you must take. To that
I call you and in that you must be my disciple." 103-4
Discipleship and the Individual
"If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and
children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My
disciple. (Luke 14:26)
Through the call of God, men become individuals… Every man is called separately,
and must follow alone. But men are frightened of solitude, and try to protect
themselves from it by merging themselves in the society of their fellow-men and
in their material environment. They become suddenly aware of their
responsibilities and duties, and are loath to part with them. But all this is
only a cloak to protect them from having to make a decision. They are unwilling
to stand alone before Jesus and to be compelled to decide with their eyes fixed
on Him alone…. It is Christ’s will that he should be thus isolated, and that he
should fix his eyes solely upon him. 105
The Beatitudes
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Privation
is the lot of the disciples in every sphere of their lives. They ... have no
security, no possessions to call their own, not even a foot of earth to call
their home, no earthly society to claim their absolute allegiance. ... For his
sake they have lost all....
The Antichrist also calls the poor blessed, but not for the sake of the cross,
which embraces all poverty and transforms it into a source of blessing. He
fights the cross with political and sociological ideology. He may call it
Christian, but that only makes him a still more dangerous enemy.... 120
“Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.” With each beatitude
the gulf is widened between the disciples and the people, their call to come
forth from the people becomes increasingly manifest.... And so the disciples are
strangers in the world, unwelcome guests and disturbers of the peace. No wonder
the world rejects them! ... they bear their sorrow in the strength of him who
bears them up, who bore the whole suffering of the world upon the cross.... The
community of strangers find their comfort in the cross, they are comforted
by being cast upon the place where the Comforter of Israel awaits them. Thus do
they find their true home with their crucified Lord, both here and in eternity.
121-122
“Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” This community of
strangers possesses no inherent right of its own...nor do they claim such right
for they are meek, the renounce every right of their own and live for the sake
of Jesus Christ. When reproached, they hold their peace; when treated with
violence they endure it patiently; when men drive them from their presence, they
yield their ground. They will not go to law to defend their rights nor make a
scene when they suffer injustice.
Their right is in the will of their Lord —that and no more. They show by every
word and gesture that they do not belong to this earth.... But Jesus says: “they
shall inherit the earth." 122-123
“Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be
filled.” Not only do the followers of Jesus renounce their rights, they renounce
their own righteousness, too. They get no praise for their achievements or
sacrifices.... [--for all the praise goes to our King!]
“Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God." Who is pure in heat?
Only those who have surrendered their hearts completely to Jesus that He may
reign in them alone. ...125
“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” The
followers of Jesus have been called to peace. When he called them they found
their peace, for he is their peace.... But nowhere will that peace be more
manifest than where they meet the wicked in peace and are ready to suffer at
their hands. The peacemakers will carry the cross with their Lord, for it was on
the cross that peace was made. Now that they are partners in Christ’s work of
reconciliation, they are called the sons of God as he is the Son of God. 125-126
“Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs
is the kingdom of heaven." ...The world will be offended at them and so the
disciples will be persecuted for righteousness’ sake. Not recognition, but
rejection, is the reward they get from the world for their message and
works....127
Rejoice and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in heaven; for so
persecuted they the prophets which were before you. “For My sake” the disciples
are reproached, but because it is for His sake, the reproach falls on Him.
...while Jesus calls them blessed, the world cries: “Away with them, away with
them!”
Yes, but whither? To the kingdom of heaven. “Rejoice and be exceeding glad: for
great is your reward in heaven.” There shall the poor be seen in the halls of
joy.... God wipes away the tears from the eyes of those who had mourned upon
earth. He feeds the hungry at his Banquet. There stand the scarred bodies of the
martyrs, now glorified and clothed in the white robes of eternal righteousness
instead of the rags of sin and repentance. The echoes of this joy reach the
little flock below as it stands beneath the cross, and they hear Jesus saying:
“Blessed are ye!” 128
The Enemy--the "Extraordinary"
There were those who cursed them for undermining the faith and transgressing the
law. There were those who hated them of leaving all they had for Jesus sake....
There were those who persecuted them as prospective dangerous revolutionaries
and sought to the destroy them. Some of their enemies were numbered among the
champions of the popular religion, who resented the exclusive claim of Jesus.
162-163
The Hidden Righteousness
The life of discipleship can only be maintained as long as nothing is allowed to
come between Christ and ourselves -- neither the law, nor personal piety, nor
even the world. The discipline always look only to his master, never to Christ
and the law, Christ and religion, Christ and the world. ... Only by following
Christ alone can he preserve a single eye. ... Thus the heart of the disciple
must be set upon Christ alone. 173-174
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Note: God calls us to have fellowship with each other. But in a fallen world,
His people are often separated from those who share their faith. Many today are
standing alone in the midst of nominal "Christians" who neither know God nor
desire to follow Him.
Bonhoeffer was surrounded by lukewarm pastors and cultural "Christians" who
supported Hitler. To most people in the established German Lutheran church,
security and wealth had become more important that Biblical truth and
faithfulness to God.
When he was imprisoned, he was separated from those he who, like him, trusted
God. Compromise was not an option, so He put all his trust in God. (Of course,
so did Moses, Joseph, David, Paul and many others whose faith deepened when
totally separated unto God alone)
Here are some Scriptures that speak to that side of life:
"If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not
of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates
you.... If they persecuted Me they will persecute you... for they do not know
the One who sent Me." John 15:19-2
"...do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of
your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will
of God." Romans 12:2
"...the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one." 1 John 5:19
"Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has
righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And
what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an
unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the
temple of the living God. As God has said:
"I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall
be My people.' Therefore, 'come out from among them and be separate,' says the
Lord. 'Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you. I will be a Father
to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters.'" 2 Corinthians 6:12-1
"Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of
her plagues." Revelation 18:4
"...the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God
service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the
Father nor Me." John 16:2-3
"... they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of
dissipation, speaking evil of you." 1 Peter 4:3-4
“Therefore prepare yourself and arise, and speak to them all that I command you.
Do not be dismayed before their faces, lest I dismay you before them.
For behold, I have made you this day a fortified city and an iron pillar,
And bronze walls against the whole land—
Against the kings... princes... priests, and against the people of the land.
They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you.
For I am with you,' says the Lord, 'to deliver you.'”
Jeremiah 1:17-19
"Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evil. Avoid
it, do not travel on it; turn away from it and pass on." Proverbs 4:14
"... in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of
themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to
parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without
self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers
of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying
its power. And from such people turn away!
"...all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But
evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.
But you must continue in the things which you have learned..." 2 Timothy 3:1-14