Bonhoeffer: Obedience and Faith

In Bonhoeffer’s chapter Grace and Discipleship contains a word to pastors and clergy which I find value in for myself, but also see must be viewed with delicate caution.  In this section, Bonhoeffer says:

…as soon as one is divorced from the other [faith and obedience], it is bound to prove a stumbling block.  “Only those who believe obey” is what we say to that part of a believer’s soul which obeys and “only those who obey believe” is what we say to that part of the soul of the obedient which believes.  If the first half of the proposition stands alone, the believer is exposed to the danger of cheap grace, which is another word for damnation.  If the second half stands alone, the believer is exposed to the danger of salvation through works, which is also another word for damnation.

Bonhoeffer advocates for a balanced, “ying and yang” approach with obedience and grace; they are inseparable, two sides of a blade, and must be “rightly divided” and rightly wielded.  His guidance for pastors is specifically for those parishioners who complain that they find it hard to believe.  “When people complain, for instance, that they find it hard to believe, it is a sign of deliberate or unconscious disobedience.  It is all too easy to put them off by offering the remedy of cheap grace….Unbelief thrives on cheap grace, for it is determined to persist in disobedience….self-imparted absolution confirms the man in his disobedience, and makes him plead ignorance of the kindness as well as of the commandment of God.”    Bonhoeffer describes an imaginary conversation in which the member complains that he listens and reads but simply can’t believe; the pastor continues to encourage listening and reading of God’s Word, and they go round and round.  Bonhoeffer’s guidance here is frank and blunt.  “It is now time to take the bull by the horns and say: “Only those who obey believe.” Thus the flow of conversation is interrupted, and the pastor can continue:  “You are disobedient, you are trying to keep your own life under your own control.  That is what is preventing you from listening to Christ and believing in his grace.  You cannot hear Christ because you are willfully disobedient.””  Further on, Bonhoeffer says “The strong point which the refractory sinner has occupied must be stormed, for in it Christ cannot be heard.  The truant must be dragged from the hiding-place which he has built for himself.  Only then can he recover the freedom to see, hear and believe.”

God bless the pastor with the courage and integrity to have such a conversation!  Especially in this modern age—which I suspect is very similar to Bonhoeffer’s—were people only want to be reassured of their good-enough-ness and to be told that they are fine just the way they are.  But God bless the pastor who has a conversation such as this, lest he jump to this blunt demand for obedience and layer burdens on top of a soul already struggling under the burden of guilt and sin. Rightly divided indeed. God’s grace has inestimable value when given freely to those overwhelmed by guilt and shame; it is cheap and shoddy, a gift taken for granted by those who perceive no sinfulness and see no need for God’s grace.  

This dichotomy of obedience and grace which Bonhoeffer discusses is to be used to break whatever one-track cycle we are stuck in.  If you or I find ourselves stuck in complacency, “I am good enough, I am nice enough, I have no need to change or do or be or act because I am covered by God’s grace in Christ”, that cycle must be broken abruptly by the demand for obedience, for responding with actions to the call of the living Christ.  But if you or I find ourselves stuck in guilt and despair, “I am unworthy, I am a worm and the worst of sinners, there is no hope for me and I must be despised by both God and people”, then God’s word must break into that cycle as a ray of light and hope, reminding the despairing soul of God’s love and grace through Christ Jesus’ atoning death.

Bonhoeffer uses the story of the “rich young man” in Matthew 19.  The young man comes to Jesus, calling Him “good master” and asking what he must do to inherit eternal life. Bonhoeffer states that the young man came to Jesus as a good teacher who will give good advice; what the young man got was a command to obedience given by God Himself. “He wanted to speak about eternal life to a good rabbi.  He now realizes he is talking not to a good master, but to God Himself, and therefore the only answer he receives from the Son of God is an unmistakable pointer to the commandment of the One God.” “Jesus sees through his question and knows it to be the question of a piety shaped by and centered on self.”  

The young man knew the law and the commandments, but was wanting an academic argument that resulted in congratulatory affirmations of his own righteousness; what he got was a command for a specific act of obedience, that of giving away his great wealth to the poor.  Is great wealth always the problem?  No, rather, it is whatever central core of self which one tries to shield from God’s demands for obedience; it is whatever secret sin one would hold onto as a god above God.  “Discipleship is the end, voluntary poverty the means.” My earlier essay questioned the demand to abandon all of a previous life—family, work—to follow the call of Christ to obedience; I suggested that in some instances we are called to obedience and not abandonment of earthly calling or relationships.  I still maintain this to be true, but the question must be posed by each individual soul:  am I putting this thing (marriage; child; spouse; career etc.) above God?  If so, it must be abandoned.  The call to obedience is to have no other gods.  This is the first commandment and, as Luther says, “the greatest.”   Or as Bonhoeffer says “Here is the sum of the commandments—to live in fellowship with Christ…The commandment is plain and straightforward:  “Follow me.””

Bonhoeffer says “He [the rich young man] neglects the unmistakable command of God for the very interesting, but purely human concern of his own moral difficulties.”  And later “…the devil has an answer for our moral difficulties, and he says:  “Keep on posing problems, and you will escape the necessity of obedience.””  Bonhoeffer quotes the serpent in Genesis, who posed the question “Did God really say….”.  And from that point forward, humanity has been debating angels on the head of a pin rather than taking God His word and responding with obedience.  We cannot allow ourselves to be wrapped around the axle of philosophical debates, ka-chunk-ka-chunk-ka-chunk ‘did God really say…is this a correct understanding…if only scripture were more transparent here…the expectations are unclear…’ ka-chunk….What breaks that tangled mass of human navel-gazing debate which is wrapped around the axle of life, thumping relentlessly forward with no apparent productive resolution, is the command of Christ for obedience.  Don’t wait for perfect understanding; don’t wait to answer the question ‘did God really say’—obey the call of Christ to follow Him.  

In the same story of the rich young man as told in Mark, the statement is added “Jesus looked on him and loved him.” (Mark 10:21).  This statement precedes the command to sell all and follow.  Jesus sees clearly the young man’s self-imposed difficulty and blindness; He wants to free and help the young man because of His love.  This is true of all of us; Jesus looks on us with only love and compassion.  1 Timothy 2: 3b,4 says “…God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”  John 3: 16 tells us “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  The love of God for all of His creation, for all people in all circumstances and at all time, underlies both His grace in Christ and His command, His call to obedience.  Jesus looked on the young man and loved him; Jesus looks at each of us as well with the same love.  His call to obedience will come, and it may require difficult and challenging responses, but His motivation is always only one of love and a desire that all are saved by faith in His atoning work.  We cannot respond by holding on to cheap grace, grace which requires no obedient response to follow; we cannot respond with question after question, demanding clarification as to “did God really say…”.  God speaks to us in His word and comes to us in the sacraments; His words and commands will always come from a place of love, but they will certainly not always be words we want to hear.  Like the rich young man, we may hear a command to obedience which is difficult, uncomfortable, which cuts to the very tender heart of our self-centered disobedience, requiring forsaking of self for the sake of Christ’s call to discipleship.  God bless us to both hear and obey His call.

1)      Do you, like the example parishioner described by Bonhoeffer, feel like you struggle to believe?  What would the dialogue be if you were to discuss this with a bold and loving pastor?  Be that pastor in your own mind and have an honest conversation with yourself—if you are hearing and reading Gods word but are struggling to believe, what steps of obedience and discipleship should you take?  

2)      Do you have a spiritual mentor, a pastor or a Christian friend, who could lead you through a discussion such as that which Bonhoeffer describes?  Someone who could demand a level of honesty and accountability that you may struggle with on your own?

3)      Consider how you approach God’s word.  Is Satan’s voice whispering in your ear “did God really say?” when you read God’s commands for obedience, when you read Jesus call to follow in discipleship?  Do you approach God’s word as philosophical discussions from a “good teacher” or do you read scripture as the inspired words of the God of the Universe?

4)      Are there areas of your life—like the great wealth of the rich young man—that you have not surrendered to God in obedience?  They may be secret sins which you treasure and refuse to confess; or they may be false gods like wealth, success or a relationship.  Imagine Jesus looking on you with love, and demanding that you abandon this thing to follow Him.  What would that look like; would it require a different path or different actions than what you are doing now?