{"id":7771,"date":"2016-09-11T16:56:22","date_gmt":"2016-09-11T21:56:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/?p=7771"},"modified":"2016-09-11T16:56:22","modified_gmt":"2016-09-11T21:56:22","slug":"discipleship-dietrich-bonhoeffer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/2016\/09\/11\/discipleship-dietrich-bonhoeffer\/","title":{"rendered":"Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

$\"Discipleship$ <\/a><\/h1>\n
Discipleship<\/i> by Dietrich Bonhoeffer<\/b><\/h1>\n
Discipleship<\/i> by Dietrich Bonhoeffer is the fourth book in the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works series created by the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Society. contains two parts. Both parts extend his continuing thought about Christ in the midst of the church community. Early in the book, Bonhoeffer defines the purpose of discipleship (40): \u201cDiscipleship is joy.\u201d In Part One (which is untitled although Bonhoeffer elsewhere called it \u201cDiscipleship in the Synoptics\u201d), Bonhoeffer introduces the idea of discipleship as costly grace (chapter 1), and then explains the call to discipleship (chapter 2). Bonhoeffer emphasizes the importance of simple obedience in discipleship (chapter 3), discipleship and the cross (chapter 4), and the importance of discipleship for the individual (chapter 5).<\/p>\n
Bonhoeffer takes the time to interpret the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 (chapter 6). Bonhoeffer says that each chapter is related to discipleship. Matthew 5 shows the extraordinariness of discipleship. Matthew 6 gives the hidden simple righteousness of discipleship. Matthew 7 reveals the lost neighbor and the disciple. Bonhoeffer follows this with a commentary on Matthew 10 (chapter 7). He interprets the chapter as a call to the work of discipleship, which is sharing the gospel. He emphasizes the role of each person involved in harvest work and its connection to discipleship. Bonhoeffer states (187-188):<\/p>\n
\u201cGod<\/span>\u2019s<\/span> works cannot be done without God\u2019s commission; otherwise, they would be done without God\u2019s promise. But does this promise and commission to preach the gospel not apply everywhere? <\/span>Both only apply where God has given the commission.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Bonhoeffer warns that even people who are not saved can do the work of the Gospel (187):<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that even Judas went out to do the work of Christ remains for us an inscrutable dilemma and a terrible warning.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
B<\/span>onhoeffer uses Part Two (\u201cThe Church of Jesus Christ and Discipleship\u201d) to connect discipleship and the mission of the church. He addresses different questions (chapter 8)\u00a0and then describes the importance of baptism (chapter 9), the body of Christ (chapter 10), the visible church community (chapter 11), and the saints and the governance of the church (chapter 12). He ends the book with a challenge for Christians to the image of Christ (chapter 12). As Bonhoeffer states:<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cThe follower of Jesus is the imitator of God. <\/span><\/span>\u201cTherefore be imitators of God, as beloved children\u201d (Ephesians 5:1).\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n
T<\/span>he quotable Bonhoeffer continues throughout this book<\/span>. Here are a set of quotes which I found interesting:<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cC<\/span>heap grace is the m<\/span>ortal<\/span> enemy of our church. Our struggle today is for costly grace.\u201d <\/span>(43)<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cCheap grace is preaching forgiveness without repentance; it is baptism without the discipline of community; it is the Lord<\/span>\u2019s Supper without confession of sin; it is absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without the living, incarnate Jesus Christ\u201d <\/span>(44)<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cWithout discipleship, costly grace would become cheap grace.\u201d<\/span>(50)<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cA change has to come about by calling people to obedience: only the obedient have faith!\u201d <\/span>(69)<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cDaily the disciples receive this certainty anew from their communion with <\/span>Jesus Christ, who is the fulfillment of all their petitions<\/span>.\u201d <\/span>(157-158)<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cIt is the goods of the world which try to turn away the hearts of Jesus\u2019 disciples.\u201d (163)<\/p>\n
\u201cThe disciples always see only Christ. They do not see Christ <\/span>and<\/span> the law, Christ <\/span>and<\/span> piety, Christ <\/span>and<\/span> the world. They do not even begin to reflect that; they just follow Christ in everything.\u201d (163)<\/span><\/p>\n
\u201cIf God provides for my today, He will just as much provide for my tomorrow.\u201d (165)<\/p>\n
\u201cJudging others makes us blind, but love gives us sight.\u201d (172)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Overall, I enjoyed this book. I found that Bonhoeffer has clearly been developing a thread which he started with Sanctum Communio<\/em>, and Act and Being<\/em>. He has continued to show in this book Discipleship<\/em> the importance of following Christ, and its central importance in the mission of the church. While he touches on these ideas in Sanctum Communio<\/em> and Act and Being<\/em>, Bonhoeffer fleshes out his theology in Discipleship<\/em>. Discipleship<\/em> is easier to read than his previous books. At the same time, the book will challenge the Christian to grow to be more like Christ.<\/p>\n
Discipleship<\/em> would also be a great book for small group or Sunday School study. The book challenges not just individuals but also the church. Bonhoeffer challenges Christians to be real followers of Christ, not just fans of Him. Bonhoeffer also challenges the church to make following Christ the central church growth strategy. Bonhoeffer wrote this book during the Nazi regime of 1930s Germany. His message is just as important now in twenty-first century world as it was then.<\/p>\n
You can read my book reviews for the following books by Dietrich Bonhoeffer:<\/p>\n
Sanctum Communio<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n
Act and Being<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n
Creation and Fall <\/em><\/a><\/p>\n
#Bonhoeffer, #Discipleship,<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer is the fourth book in the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works series created by the Dietrich Bonhoeffer Society. contains two parts. Both parts extend his continuing thought about Christ in the midst of the church community. Early in the book, Bonhoeffer defines the purpose of discipleship (40): \u201cDiscipleship is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2886,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46,100],"tags":[393,410,499,655,665,1695,1999],"class_list":["post-7771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-review-reviews","category-reviews","tag-bonhoeffer","tag-book-review","tag-church-community","tag-dietrich-bonhoeffer","tag-discipleship","tag-reviews-2","tag-the-cost-of-discipleship"],"yoast_head":"\nDiscipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer is a Christian book review about the classic book Discipleship from Dietrich Bonhoeffer.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/2016\/09\/11\/discipleship-dietrich-bonhoeffer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer is a Christian book review about the classic book Discipleship from Dietrich Bonhoeffer.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/2016\/09\/11\/discipleship-dietrich-bonhoeffer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jim Erwin\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/revjimerwin\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-09-11T21:56:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/files\/2016\/09\/discipleship-by-bonhoeffer-dbw4.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jim Erwin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@revjimerwin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jim Erwin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/2016\/09\/11\/discipleship-dietrich-bonhoeffer\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/2016\/09\/11\/discipleship-dietrich-bonhoeffer\/\",\"name\":\"Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-09-11T21:56:22+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-09-11T21:56:22+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/#\/schema\/person\/d60794d59235a0279dec26398d994dcb\"},\"description\":\"Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer is a Christian book review about the classic book Discipleship from Dietrich Bonhoeffer.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/2016\/09\/11\/discipleship-dietrich-bonhoeffer\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/2016\/09\/11\/discipleship-dietrich-bonhoeffer\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/2016\/09\/11\/discipleship-dietrich-bonhoeffer\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/\",\"name\":\"Jim Erwin\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/#\/schema\/person\/d60794d59235a0279dec26398d994dcb\",\"name\":\"Jim Erwin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/70772a6e533e4bcbd0ac0e0af2d62ff1?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/70772a6e533e4bcbd0ac0e0af2d62ff1?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jim Erwin\"},\"description\":\"My name is Jim Erwin. 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