Bonhoeffer's Idea of Grace

Bonhoeffer is my hero among mankind.  He was intelligent, curious, moral, convicted, honest, and brave. He resisted the Nazis but not The Lord.  He was a theologian, prisoner, spy, disciple, minister, and friend. His works are unmatched in my opinion.  Between his writings in German, later works translated into English, fiction and non-fiction written about him, plays, films and even an opera, one could spend a lifetime engrossed in his life.  The Cost of Discipleship is a book dear to my heart, published in 1937, it is considered a classic among Christians all over the world.  The book is written, beautifully, with The Sermon on the Mount in mind.

In The Cost of Discipleship Bonhoeffer makes the distinction between "cheap" and "costly" grace by saying,  

"cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline. Communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ."  
  
"costly grace confronts us as a gracious call to follow Jesus, it comes as a word of forgiveness to the broken spirit and the contrite heart. It is costly because it compels a man to submit to the yoke of Christ and follow him; it is grace because Jesus says: 'My yoke is easy and my burden is light."

"The main defect of such a proclamation is that it contains no demand for discipleship". 

See, Jesus didn't just say to the disciples, "you belong to me, nice to meet ya!" He said, in Matthew 16:24 “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."  Earlier in Matthew chapter 4:19  he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. Did you catch that?  IMMEDIATELY they left and followed Jesus.  

Costly grace begs our hearts to do just that. Costly grace had Bonhoeffer hanged by the Nazis.  But Matthew 10:22 reminds us "the one who endures to the end will be saved."

These are fishermen today on the Sea of Galilee.   I wonder if they would take hold of the grace Jesus offered if he were standing on the shore calling for them to follow?   I also wonder how good I will become at the end of my time here on earth with costly grace?  Because if I am honest, cheap grace slips in on me now and then...and I am not proud.