Bonhoeffer: cheap grace

Wednesday, May 25, 2011
    Feast of the Venerable Bede, Priest, Monk of Jarrow, Historian, 735
    Commemoration of Aldhelm, Abbot of Mamsbury, Bishop of Sherborne, 709
Meditation:
    For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
    —Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)
Quotation:
    After all, we are told, our salvation has already been accomplished by the grace of God... It was unkind to speak to men like this, for such a cheap offer could only leave them bewildered and tempt them from the way to which they had been called by Christ. Having laid hold on cheap grace, they were barred forever from the knowledge of costly grace. Deceived and weakened, men felt that they were strong now that they were in possession of this cheap grace—whereas they had in fact lost the power to live the life of discipleship and obedience. The word of cheap grace has been the ruin of more Christians than any commandment of works.
    ... Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), The Cost of Discipleship, London: SCM Press, 1964, p. 14-15 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, take my life, for I cannot keep it through my own strength. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
BDTC    search    script    mobile
sub    fb    twt