When Dietrich Bonhoefffer talks about the idea of "cheap grace" it must be understood in the historical context of Nazi occupation in Germany that shaped the direction of his faith and devotion. Bonhoeffer gave his life for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ. After Bonhoeffers daily prayers he calmly and without hesitation took his place at the gallows,and he was tried for treason,found guilty,and hanged in the concentration camp Flossenburg in the spring of 1945. "Cheap grace" is grace without repentance. Yes, all men and women are freely justified and redeemed by the saving work of Christ alone(Rom 3:24). So grace is available in unlimited supply to all;but it is very costly,because of what Jesus endured on our behalf. In the book of James the scripture teaches that "faith without works is dead"(Jm 1:22 Jm 2:14,18). Is there a conflict between Bonhoeffer's radical faith and understanding of cheap/costly grace and the rest of scripture? Costly vs cheap grace can be confusing to some people. As I studied a commentary on Dietrich Bonhoeffer's work titled The Cost of Discipleship I was apprehensive,because I thought I needed to do something other than accept God's free gift of grace and righteousness. I didn't want to discover an aspect of grace that would hinder the beautiful favor I believe I have through Christ. To me cheap grace is when a person is binge drinking all weekend and hooking up and never having a devotional time, but on Sunday they recieve the benefits of grace and they are ok and so is God. This becomes ineffective and "cheap grace". When you recognize what Christ has done for you then living a Christ centered life will be a spiritual byproduct of your belief. Because of what Christ has done for us,and because our freedom and grace came at such a high price; and was so costly we should prioritize our lives in such a way that we offer our lives in service to the king of all kings.
Jesus is worth following. In our culture we have tried to dumb down Jesus,and tried to weaken His eternal cause. When Jesus resurrected from the dead He exhibited absolute power. I don't care how many super hero movies that Hollywood subjects the masses to or how invincible you may believe you are when you die you will not come back in three days. Don't you want to give your life to the God Man who conquered death.
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