The Cost of Discipleship

Bonhoeffer lays the groundwork for the book’s overarching theme: the challenges and rewards of genuine Christian discipleship. He criticizes the institutional church for becoming a barrier to true faith by burdening believers with dogmas and human-made rules. According to Bonhoeffer, this excess has caused confusion and turned people away from the core message of Jesus. The quest for discipleship, he asserts, is ultimately a quest for Jesus Christ and his teachings, not for religious formalities or human interpretations. He argues that the “mental climate” of the audience often finds it hard to relate to the gospel as preached, not because they reject Christ, but because they find the preaching laden with elements that are “hopelessly out of touch” (35). He also counters the perception that Christianity, as a call to intense discipleship, becomes a faith for the elite few, alienating the majority. For Bonhoeffer, true discipleship is liberating and universal, leading to “a road of boundless mercy” (38). One of the key quotes is: “Only Jesus Christ, who bids us follow him, knows the journey’s end. But we do know that it will be a road of boundless mercy.