The Cost of Discipleship

The Cost of Discipleship written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German theologian and anti-Nazi dissident whose life and teachings are brought to the forefront in the thrilling 2024 film Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin .

W HEN CHRIST CALLS A MAN HE BIDS HIM COME AND DIE

― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship

Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves . . . the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship. . . .

Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. . . .”

― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship

Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship, now with new translations, transliterations, and Afterword. An insightful look at grace and the path to eternal life, featuring: New Greek, Latin, and French Translations and Transliterations. New Afterword from Publisher. Original Foreword By By G. K. A. Bell, Late Bishop of Chichester; And Author Memoir By G. Leibholz Newly Edited Content (Reviewed, Revised, and Refined) to Maximize Quality Reading.

A rigorously patient exposition of the Sermon on the Mount which compels the reader to face himself, and God, in any situation. A very moving book, lived as well as written ”
—Times (London) Literary Supplement

Among the Flossenberg martyrs was a remarkable young Lutheran pastor named Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who had joined the underground convinced that it was his duty as a Christian to work for Hitler's defeat. Bonhoeffer was only 39 when he died, but he had already made a monumental contribution to Christian thought, which today has profound and growing significance for both theologian and layman. Bonhoeffer's books are gaining an astonishing popularity in the secular world. . . He is admired by people who have read his best-known books, The Cost of Discipleship and Letters and Papers from Prison, as the example of what a modern Christian must be.
— Life

Millions of readers worldwide have benefited from the profound insights presented in The Cost of Discipleship . In this remarkable work, 20th-century Christian theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer asserts that “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die”. Drawing from the Sermon on the Mount, Bonhoeffer offers a critical examination of the distinction between cheap grace and costly grace. He describes cheap grace as self-bestowed, characterized by the preaching of forgiveness without repentance, baptism without church discipline, and communion without confession. According to Bonhoeffer, cheap grace is grace without discipleship.

Conversely, he defines costly grace as the gift that must be earnestly sought, symbolized by the door at which one must knock. It is costly because it demands a person's life, yet it is grace because it is given by God and provides a path to true life.

The Cost of Discipleship was first published in 1936. Blue Harvest Publishing is dedicated to introducing individuals to the revelation of Jesus Christ through the publication of Christian content. This book is part of the Blue Harvest Publishing Classics series, selected for its wisdom and influence. The Cost of Discipleship is an excellent addition to any Christian library.