Discussion Questions

David Bercot says only the Christian who “exerts himself in running the race…strives to enter the narrow gate…disciplines his body…daily examines himself and confesses his sins” can fully appreciate grace—what experiences in that kind of life make grace feel more essential rather than less? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Bercot says people who work hard to follow Jesus (self-control, confession, self-checking) understand grace best. What parts of living that way make grace feel more necessary, not less?

The chapter insists that “even in our best human efforts, we are never deserving of eternal life”; how does that claim reshape the emotional tone of obedience—does it produce gratitude, fear, humility, exhaustion, or something else in you? JumpstartAnother way to ask: The chapter says even our best efforts don’t earn eternal life. How does that change how obedience feels to you (gratitude, fear, humility, tiredness, or something else)?

Bonhoeffer’s definition of costly grace includes repeated seeking, asking, and knocking; what does that picture imply about God’s intentions for how grace is received and lived in, compared with the assumption that grace is mainly something you “got” at conversion? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Bonhoeffer says costly grace means keep seeking, asking, and knocking. What does that say about how God wants us to receive and live in grace compared to thinking grace is something you only “got” at conversion?

“We insult God when we take His grace for granted and treat it as something automatically owed to us because we once prayed the sinner’s prayer”—where do you see that mindset showing up in modern evangelical culture, and what practices tend to reinforce it? JumpstartAnother way to ask: The chapter says we disrespect God when we act like grace is owed to us because we once prayed the sinner’s prayer. Where do you see that attitude in evangelical culture, and what habits or teachings feed it?

Hebrews 10:28–29 is used to warn about “trampling the Son of God underfoot” and “insulting the Spirit of grace”; what kinds of behaviors, attitudes, or teachings today could plausibly fit that description, and why would God treat them so severely? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Hebrews 10:28–29 warns about “trampling” Jesus and “insulting” the Spirit of grace. What beliefs or behaviors today might match that, and why would God take them so seriously?

Bonhoeffer describes cheap grace as the church’s “inexhaustible treasury” that “showers blessings…without asking questions or fixing limits”; what limits, questions, or boundaries does the New Testament actually place around grace according to this chapter’s argument? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Bonhoeffer says cheap grace is given out with no questions and no limits. Based on this chapter, what questions or boundaries does the New Testament put around grace?

The chapter contrasts “discipline ourselves and obey…because we appreciate how much our salvation costs God” with obedience as a way to earn salvation; how would you distinguish, in real life, obedience motivated by gratitude from obedience motivated by self-justification? JumpstartAnother way to ask: How can you tell the difference between obeying out of gratitude for what God paid and obeying to prove you deserve salvation?

Bonhoeffer’s critique includes “forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, and communion without confession”; how would early Christians likely have understood repentance, baptism, discipline, and confession, and what would they find most shocking about typical modern practice? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Bonhoeffer criticizes forgiveness without repentance, baptism without discipline, and communion without confession. How did early Christians likely understand repentance, baptism, discipline, and confession, and what about today’s practice would shock them most?

Bonhoeffer’s sarcasm suggests that if grace means “everything can remain as it was before,” then Christians should “live like the rest of the world”; what “world’s standards” do Christians most commonly mirror today, and what makes those areas hard to surrender? JumpstartAnother way to ask: Bonhoeffer suggests that if grace changes nothing, Christians might as well live like everyone else. What “worldly” values do Christians copy most today, and why are those things so hard to give up?

The chapter concludes that cheap grace denies “the living Word of God” and “the incarnation”; how does treating grace as a “license to sin” practically deny the reality that God became man, and what concrete changes would show that you refuse to treat Christ’s blood as “a common thing”? JumpstartAnother way to ask: The chapter says cheap grace denies God’s living Word and the incarnation. How does using grace as an excuse to sin deny that God became human, and what real-life changes would show you take Christ’s blood seriously?