Quote of the Day (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Scorning “Cheap Grace”)

“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.”—Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), The Cost of Discipleship

I included the first sentence of this quote in my post yesterday on Day Three at Chautauqua, but I think now that the full context of it makes Bonhoeffer’s words even more compelling.