Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German pastor, expert of theology and one of the founders of the Confessing Church who is however best known for being a fierce anti-Nazi activist.
His book ‘The Cost of Discipleship’, written in 1937, is considered among the most important books of the time and is still regarded as a classic. Famous Dietrich Bonhoeffer quotes will touch your soul, brighten up your life and bring best out of you.
If you’re searching for inspiring quotes from famous Christians that perfectly capture what you’d like to say or just want to feel inspired yourself, browse through an amazing collection of quotes by Fulton J. Sheen, best Gordon B. Hinckley quotes and greatest Henri Nouwen quotes.
Famous Dietrich Bonhoeffer Quotes
May God in His mercy lead us through these times; but above all, may He lead us to Himself. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Who can really be faithful in great things if he has not learned to be faithful in the things of daily life? Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Do not try to make the Bible relevant. Its relevance is axiomatic. Do not defend God’s word, but testify to it. Trust in the Word. It is a ship loaded to the very limits of its capacity. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The church is not a religious community of worshippers of Christ but is Christ himself who has taken form among people. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
As long as we let the Word of God be our only armor, we can look confidently into the future. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
One act of obedience is better than one hundred sermons. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
When all is said and done, the life of faith is nothing if not an unending struggle of the spirit with every available weapon against the flesh. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Jesus himself did not try to convert the two thieves on the cross; he waited until one of them turned to him. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Salvation is free, but discipleship will cost you your life. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The celebration of Advent is possible only to those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect, and who look forward to something greater to come. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Jesus himself did not try to convert the two thieves on the cross; he waited until one of them turned to him. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
When you read the Bible, you must think that here and now, God is speaking with me Dietrich Bonhoeffer
As brother stands by brother in distress, binding up his wounds and soothing his pain, so let us show our love towards our enemy. There is no deeper distress to be found in the world, no pain more bitter than our enemies. Nowhere is service more necessary or more blessed than when we serve our enemies. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Your life as a Christian should make nonbelievers question their disbelief in God. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
We must learn to regard people less in light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Judging others makes us blind, whereas love is illuminating. By judging others we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we are. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our church. We are fighting today for costly grace. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
In ordinary life we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
In normal life we hardly realize how much more we receive than we give, and life cannot be rich without such gratitude. It is so easy to overestimate the importance of our own achievements compared with what we owe to the help of others. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Judging others makes us blind, whereas love is illuminating. By judging others we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we are.
If our Christianity has ceased to be serious about discipleship, if we have watered down the gospel into emotional uplift which makes no costly demands and which fails to distinguish between natural and Christian existence, then we cannot help regarding the cross as an ordinary everyday calamity, as one of the trials and tribulations of life. We have then forgotten that the cross means rejection and shame as well as suffering. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Cheap grace is grace without discipleship. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Your life as a Christian should make nonbelievers question their disbelief in God. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Silence in the face of evil is evil itself. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Battles are won, not with weapons, but with God. They are won where the way leads to the cross. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The first service that one owes to others in the fellowship consists of listening to them. Just as love of God begins with listening to his word, so the beginning of love for our brothers and sisters is learning to listen to them. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The Lord confers great honor on his servants when he brings them suffering Dietrich Bonhoeffer
It is only because he became like us that we can become like him. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. 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, living and incarnate. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The first service that one owes to others in the fellowship consists of listening to them. Just as love of God begins with listening to his word, so the beginning of love for our brothers and sisters is learning to listen to them. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
God does not love some ideal person, but rather human beings just as we are, not some ideal world, but rather the real world. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Christianity stands or falls with its revolutionary protest against violence, arbitrariness and pride of power and with its plea for the weak. Christians are doing too little to make these points clear rather than too much. Christendom adjusts itself far too easily to the worship of power. Christians should give more offense, shock the world far more, than they are doing now. Christian should take a stronger stand in favor of the weak rather than considering first the possible right of the strong. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
A Christian is someone who shares the sufferings of God in the world. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
In a word, live together in the forgiveness of your sins, for without it no human fellowship, least of all a marriage, can survive. Don’t insist on your rights, don’t blame each other, don’t judge or condemn each other, don’t find fault with each other, but accept each other as you are, and forgive each other every day from the bottom of your hearts Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Your life as a Christian should make nonbelievers question their disbelief in God. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
In me there is darkness, But with You there is light; I am lonely, but You do not leave me; I am feeble in heart, but with You there is help; I am restless, but with You there is peace. In me there is bitterness, but with You there is patience; I do not understand Your ways, But You know the way for me.Lord Jesus Christ, You were poor And in distress, a captive and forsaken as I am. You know all man’s troubles; You abide with me When all men fail me; You remember and seek me; It is Your will that I should know You And turn to You. Lord, I hear Your call and follow; Help me. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Being a Christian is less about cautiously avoiding sin than about courageously and actively doing God’s will. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves to its children. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. 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, living, and incarnate. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
