At Finkenwalde he found the type of work to which he could give himself whole-heartedly. Simple obedience does not imply a doctrine of human merit. (Perhaps not more important than the matter itself, but more than bothering about it)” (94). The God of the Bible ... conquers power and space in the world by his weakness (122). We have to be persistent in our prayer because God answers us only when we ask and we must be humble because God requires submission to his Word. In this way, God creates in us praise for himself. All Christ intended was to convince Christians of their inability to keep God’s law and so teach them that they had to rely on grace alone. While some search for wisdom (theology, science, understanding), and other search for signals (supernatural power, gifts, miracles), we preach Christ, and Him crucified. We are just managers of it for Him. Much of Bonhoeffer’s work was collected and edited by his close friend Eberhard Bethge, a former student and the author of the definitive Bonhoeffer biography. Similarly, Christ’s office is not simply to fulfil our religious needs; he is Lord of our entire life. It will also show the cost at which discipleship, in all nations, is to be won. 3:12), if a person claims to be a believer, but he isn’t seeking to grow in obedience to Christ, he is fooling himself. The salt in Jesus’ day was often corrupted with other substances. There is, however, another element in Bonhoeffer’s speaking of the weakness of God. Verse 25 is crucial for interpreting what follows. It also served to express his thoughts about the mysteries of divine providence. They are inextricably linked and the two propositions must therefore always be placed alongside each other: obedience to the call of Christ is the consequence of faith, but it is also its presupposition and condition. Christ in you the hope of glory. That suffering implies rejection, for Jesus was a despised Messiah and one is a disciple only by sharing in his rejection and cross. As I hope to show, even in the controversial writings we find insights of enduring value. Two characteristics that stand out in Bonhoeffer’s writings are his Christology and his submission to the authority of the Bible. If people revile us for being Christians, we must bless them in return (Rom. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation, Steve served as the pastor of Flagstaff Christian Fellowship from May, 1992 through his retirement in December, 2018. He himself prayed constantly and he thanked others for their intercessory prayer. The point is, follow Jesus Christ by putting Him above everything else in life so that you are useful to God. If He is first, then obviously you will be spending consistent time alone with Him in His Word, in prayer, and in devotion. Among the differences with the earlier period is the stress Bonhoeffer places in these later years on the Christian’s life in the world. At this time, and especially during the prison years, Bonhoeffer introduced ideas – such as “this-worldliness,” “religionless Christianity,” and especially the “weakness and suffering of God” – that disturbed orthodox believers and were, in turn, used by liberal theologians to claim him as the father of their “progressive” and “death-of-God” movements.1 For some decades their interpretation was widely accepted. We should never do anything to provoke persecution, but if we suffer for the sake of righteousness, we must entrust our souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right (1 Pet. Bonhoeffer asks his brother-in-law: Is it ... intelligible to you if I say I am not at any point willing to sacrifice the Bible as this strange word of God, that on the contrary, I ask with all my strength what God is trying to say to us through it? Bonhoeffer did not elevate the Christian life above doctrinal faithfulness. He defined cheap grace as grace that is taught as a mere principle. Jesus uses a third illustration to show the cost of not following Him, that of salt that has become tasteless. Large crowds did not fool Him. But I do not think that these constitute the real problems and give rise to the deepest disagreements. Bonhoeffer makes clear, however, that God is not a deus ex machina – a means whereby, in Bethge’s words, “we can be rescued from dangers, have our mysteries solved, and hear our questions answered.” As he writes on April 30, 1944, he wants to speak of God “not on the borders of life but at its centre, not in weakness but in strength, not, therefore, in man’s suffering and death but in his life and prosperity” (93). It was with this conviction, which remained with him for the rest of his life, that Bonhoeffer did his work at Finkenwalde. 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