It has stood the test of time.
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God's book, the Bible,
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still relevant in
today's complex world.
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It Is Written,
sharing hope around the globe.
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[Music]
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JB: I'm John Bradshaw.
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This is It Is Written.
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Thanks for joining me.
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He was born in a little
town in what is now southwest
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Poland.
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It was Germany then.
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The year was 1906.
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He as the sixth of eight
children that would be born
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into the family.
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His father, Carl, was
a prominent neurologist.
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His mother,
Paula, was the daughter
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of a German countess.
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Her grandfather was one
of Kaiser Wilhelm's court
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preachers.
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For the first seven or so
years of his life, he was raised
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in a home right
here on this very street.
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You can imagine it
being a tranquil time.
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Breslau was a lovely town,
an average town, and as his
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mother home-schooled
him during his early years,
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nobody could have imagined
that he would go on to become
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one of the 20th
centuries true Christian giants.
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[Music] But things change.
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Breslau isn't Breslau anymore.
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It's known today as Wroclaw.
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And it isn't in Germany.
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Today it's in Poland.
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Germany's borders were
altered following World War II.
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And in Wroclaw today
there's a monument erected
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in honor of a man who
would pay the ultimate
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price for his faith in God.
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And even though he might
not be a household name in his
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own home town
anymore, Dietrich Bonhoeffer
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was a man who became a
champion for the Word of God.
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And he came to understand
by experience the cost
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of discipleship.
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[Music]
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One of Dietrich's
brothers would die fighting
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in World War I.
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One of his sisters would
go on to marry a lawyer who,
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like Dietrich, would
join in a plot against Hitler
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and the Nazi regime.
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His family expected
that Dietrich would follow
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his father into medicine,
but he surprised and, in fact,
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disappointed his father when
he announced that he intended
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instead to become a
pastor and a theologian.
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His oldest brother told
Dietrich not to waste his
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time in such a boring,
petty, feeble, bourgeois
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institution as the church.
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Dietrich's answer hinted
at the type of individual
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he would become.
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He said, '"If what you
say about the church is true,
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then I shall reform it."
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In the meantime, his
family had moved to Berlin.
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After studying at the University
of Berlin, and after graduating
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with distinction, Dietrich
spent time in the United States,
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returning to Germany in
1931 to lecture in systematic
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theology at the same university.
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He was ordained
when he was 25 years old.
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Berlin was then and is now
German's capital, the center
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of its culture, its
genius and its power.
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Today, Berlin is
modern, edgy, hip, trendy,
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fashionable.
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When the Bonhoeffers
lived here in the early 20th
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century, Berlin was largely
an elegant sort of a place.
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But between then and
now, Berlin has been the scene
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of a titanic battle
between good and evil.
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And Dietrich
Bonhoeffer found himself right
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in the middle of that battle.
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It is impossible to
escape reminders of Berlin's
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colorful history.
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The Brandenburg gate was
built in the 18th century
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by King Frederick William II
of Prussia as a sign of peace.
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Remnants of the
Berlin wall still stand.
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It wasn't long ago that Germans
of both sides of what was then
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a divided Germany
celebrated here that the Berlin
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wall was coming down.
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Checkpoint Charlie is
the most famous Berlin wall
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crossing point.
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It's now one of Berlin's
major tourist attractions.
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Even though nothing of
the original Checkpoint
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Charlie stands today,
5,000 people escaped to West
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Berlin from East
Berlin while the wall was up.
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More than 100 died trying.
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But the figure that looms
largest in Berlin's history
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is undoubtedly Adolf Hitler.
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Two days after the
Nazis ascended to power
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in Germany, on January
30, 1933, Hitler was appointed
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Germany's chancellor, or fuhrer.
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And Dietrich
Bonhoeffer realized right away
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something of the
danger Germany was facing.
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Just two days after
Hitler was appointed chancellor,
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Bonhoeffer attacked him
in a radio address, warning
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against the cultive
personality that Hitler
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was fostering.
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Going after Hitler like
that was certainly a bold move,
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but it was simply the
shape of things to come for
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Bonhoeffer.
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In April of that same year,
Bonhoeffer spoke out against
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the Nazi attitude toward
Jews, saying that Christians
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should not simply bandage
the victims under the wheel
00:06:06.36\00:06:10.30
of Nazi injustice,
but should instead jam
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the spoke into the wheel itself.
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It wouldn't be long
and Bonhoeffer's anti-Nazi
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zeal would take that principle
to the highest level possible.
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[ominous music] In that
first year of Nazi rule,
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Dietrich began organizing
opposition to the Nazi
00:06:30.93\00:06:34.00
regime among the
Protestant churches of Germany.
00:06:34.00\00:06:36.83
But even among those standing
up against what the Nazis
00:06:36.83\00:06:40.40
were doing, there were
many who lacked Dietrich's
00:06:40.40\00:06:43.23
courage in speaking
out against the Nazis'
00:06:43.23\00:06:46.20
mistreatment of the Jews.
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When Dietrich and others
began organizing the movement
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that became known as
the Confessing Church
00:06:51.56\00:06:54.23
in opposition to the Germany
Christian movement, a document
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was offered called
the '"Bethel Confession."
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It urged Christians to stand up
for biblical principles in spite
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of what was going on in Germany.
00:07:05.36\00:07:07.36
But the authors of
the '"Bethel Confession"
00:07:07.36\00:07:11.63
refused to include in
that document positive
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statements about God's
dealings with the Jews.
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In the end, Dietrich decided
the document was so watered
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down, he refused to sign it.
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Dietrich Bonhoeffer was on a
collision course with history.
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Under Hitler, his
country was going in a definite
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direction.
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Under God, his
conscious was going in another.
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He'd have decisions to
make--decisions that would
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ultimately cost him his life
in a Nazi concentration camp.
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I'll have more in just a moment.
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[Music] >: In
Matthew 4:4 the Word
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of God says, '"It is written,
man shall not live by bread
00:07:55.00\00:07:58.43
alone, but by every word
that proceeds from the mouth
00:07:58.43\00:08:01.93
of God." '"Every Word"
is a one-minute Bible-based
00:08:01.93\00:08:05.26
daily devotional presented
by Pastor John Bradshaw
00:08:05.26\00:08:08.40
and designed especially
for busy people like you.
00:08:08.40\00:08:11.53
Look for '"Every Word" on
selected networks, or watch
00:08:11.53\00:08:14.76
it online every day on
our website, itiswritten.com.
00:08:14.76\00:08:18.90
Receive a daily spiritual boost.
00:08:18.90\00:08:20.86
Watch '"Every Word."
00:08:20.86\00:08:22.30
You'll be glad you did.
00:08:22.30\00:08:23.96
Here's a sample.
00:08:23.96\00:08:26.23
[Music]
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JB: I get asked every
now and then about this.
00:08:33.83\00:08:36.53
We're saved by
grace through faith.
00:08:36.53\00:08:38.63
Right.
00:08:38.63\00:08:39.63
But then Revelation
22:12 says, '"And behold I come
00:08:39.63\00:08:42.46
quickly and my reward is
with me, to give every man
00:08:42.46\00:08:45.66
according as his works
shall be." Sounds to some people
00:08:45.66\00:08:49.23
as though this is
saying we're not saved by God's
00:08:49.23\00:08:51.23
grace, but by our works.
00:08:51.23\00:08:52.83
Well, let's look
at this carefully.
00:08:52.83\00:08:54.83
John writes that we
are judged by our works,
00:08:54.83\00:08:56.90
not saved by our works.
00:08:56.90\00:08:58.43
The point is that our
works, how we live our lives,
00:08:58.43\00:09:01.93
demonstrate or give evidence
regarding the reality of our
00:09:01.93\00:09:06.90
profession.
00:09:06.90\00:09:07.90
Anyone at all can claim
to be a follower of Jesus,
00:09:07.90\00:09:09.90
but it isn't what you say that
really matters--it's how you
00:09:09.90\00:09:12.80
live.
00:09:12.80\00:09:13.80
That's where the
evidence really is.
00:09:13.80\00:09:15.80
In the judgment, it
isn't just a profession God
00:09:15.80\00:09:17.93
is looking for.
00:09:17.93\00:09:18.93
He's looking for the real thing.
00:09:18.93\00:09:21.10
I'm John Bradshaw
for It Is Written.
00:09:21.10\00:09:23.26
Let's live today by every Word.
00:09:23.26\00:09:29.06
JB: Planning for
your financial future is a
00:09:29.06\00:09:30.10
ital aspect of Christian
00:09:30.10\00:09:32.50
stewardship.
00:09:32.50\00:09:33.90
For this reason, It Is
Written is pleased to offer free
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planned giving
and estate services.
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For information on how
we can help you, please call
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1-800-992-2219.
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Call today, or
visit our special website,
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www.hislegacy.com.
00:09:47.70\00:09:52.30
[Piano music]
00:09:58.70\00:10:02.66
JB: This is It Is Written.
00:10:06.03\00:10:07.33
I'm John Bradshaw.
00:10:07.33\00:10:08.16
Thanks for joining me today.
00:10:08.16\00:10:10.00
Today, the cost of discipleship.
00:10:10.00\00:10:12.60
The story of a true champion
of grace, Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
00:10:12.60\00:10:17.73
While in Berlin, the
Bonhoeffer family lived
00:10:17.73\00:10:20.60
here, #43 Marienburger Allee.
00:10:20.60\00:10:23.03
And while the Bonhoeffers
were living here, along
00:10:23.03\00:10:26.93
with Martin Niemoller, Dietrich
formed an organization known
00:10:26.93\00:10:30.20
as the Confessing Church.
00:10:30.20\00:10:32.73
It was never very large,
but it represented the strongest
00:10:32.73\00:10:36.20
opposition against the
Nazi government on the part
00:10:36.20\00:10:39.03
of German Christians.
00:10:39.03\00:10:40.83
Swiss theologian Karl
Barth drafted a declaration
00:10:40.83\00:10:44.10
in which he stated that
Jesus Christ, and not Adolf
00:10:44.10\00:10:48.16
Hitler, was the
true head of the church.
00:10:48.16\00:10:51.33
Now, you might think it
shouldn't take a declaration
00:10:51.33\00:10:53.50
to make that plain, but
because of the idolatrous
00:10:53.50\00:10:56.90
cult of personality
that Hitler had built around
00:10:56.90\00:10:59.40
himself, in which he
appealed to a deep devotion
00:10:59.40\00:11:02.60
to duty and power and
nationalism, there weren't
00:11:02.60\00:11:06.93
many German Christians
who were prepared to stand
00:11:06.93\00:11:10.00
in opposition to Adolf Hitler.
00:11:10.00\00:11:12.36
At about this time,
Bonhoeffer accepted an offer
00:11:12.36\00:11:16.33
to become the pastor of
two German-speaking churches
00:11:16.33\00:11:20.03
in London.
00:11:20.03\00:11:21.03
He'd become discouraged
with the collaboration
00:11:21.03\00:11:23.13
of so many German Christians
with Hitler, and felt it
00:11:23.13\00:11:26.70
was time, in his words, to
go for a while into the desert.
00:11:26.70\00:11:31.83
But his friend Karl Barth,
himself driven into Switzerland
00:11:31.83\00:11:34.93
for opposing Hitler's
policies, rebuked Bonhoeffer
00:11:34.93\00:11:38.73
for running away from his
post while, in Barth's words,
00:11:38.73\00:11:42.06
'"the house of your
church is on fire." In 1935,
00:11:42.06\00:11:48.13
Bonhoeffer returned to
Germany.@ In spite of fierce
00:11:48.13\00:11:51.83
opposition from the Nazi
authorities, the seminary
00:11:51.83\00:11:54.86
Bonhoeffer headed
continued for two years.
00:11:54.86\00:11:57.86
But eventually it was
shut down by the Gestapo,
00:11:57.86\00:12:00.70
and many pastors and
former teachers were arrested.
00:12:00.70\00:12:06.30
[Music]
00:12:08.76\00:12:13.30
Not far from the Bonhoeffer
home in Berlin is the Olympic
00:12:13.96\00:12:17.06
Stadium, built for the
Olympic games of 1936.@
00:12:17.06\00:12:21.40
It was here that
African-American athlete
00:12:21.40\00:12:24.93
Jesse Owens won four
gold medals while Adolf Hitler
00:12:24.93\00:12:28.90
looked on.
00:12:28.90\00:12:29.90
Hitler infamously refused
to shake the hands of black
00:12:29.90\00:12:33.73
athletes, and he
snubbed Jesse Owens and others.
00:12:33.73\00:12:38.36
Hitler was on his way to
what he hoped would be European
00:12:38.36\00:12:41.23
dominance.
00:12:41.23\00:12:43.63
While the Olympics were taking
place here, few could have
00:12:43.63\00:12:47.20
imagined that within 10
years, Germany's megalomaniacal
00:12:47.20\00:12:51.73
leader would stand
astride the continent of Europe.
00:12:51.73\00:12:55.40
He would threaten the
peace of the world, commit some
00:12:55.40\00:12:58.70
of the most horrific crimes
ever witnessed in the history
00:12:58.70\00:13:02.20
of mankind, then at
last end his own life
00:13:02.20\00:13:06.70
in an underground
bunker just miles from here.
00:13:06.70\00:13:10.50
It was while the
Olympics were taking place
00:13:10.50\00:13:14.00
that Bonhoeffer wrote
what's perhaps his most widely
00:13:14.00\00:13:17.10
recognized book, '"The
Cost of Discipleship," in which
00:13:17.10\00:13:20.70
he expounded upon
the Sermon on the Mount.
00:13:20.70\00:13:24.16
Understanding something
about the background against
00:13:24.16\00:13:26.96
which the book was written
helps us to understand how
00:13:26.96\00:13:30.33
the book was framed.
00:13:30.33\00:13:32.26
Bonhoeffer believed
in costly discipleship.
00:13:32.26\00:13:35.86
And when you realize
what following Jesus cost
00:13:35.86\00:13:39.33
Bonhoeffer, you can see why.
00:13:39.33\00:13:42.36
A classic today, he wrote
at length about the problem
00:13:42.36\00:13:45.43
of what he called cheap grace.
00:13:45.43\00:13:47.66
He argued that much
of German Christianity
00:13:50.00\00:13:52.43
had permitted itself
to be secularized due
00:13:52.43\00:13:55.26
to an understanding of
God's grace that emphasized
00:13:55.26\00:13:58.56
forgiveness at the expense
of repentance and obedience.
00:13:58.56\00:14:02.33
Here's what he said:
'"Cheap grace is the preaching
00:14:02.33\00:14:06.80
of forgiveness
without requiring repentance.
00:14:06.80\00:14:10.36
Baptism without
church discipline.
00:14:10.36\00:14:12.93
Communion without confession.
00:14:12.93\00:14:15.06
Cheap grace is grace without
discipleship, grace without
00:14:15.06\00:14:20.93
the cross, grace without
Jesus Christ." Bonhoeffer
00:14:20.93\00:14:26.36
believed that it was
this minimizing, or maybe even
00:14:26.36\00:14:28.93
belittling, of Christian
discipleship and sanctification
00:14:28.93\00:14:32.23
that brought about the
docile acceptance on the part
00:14:32.23\00:14:35.10
of so many German
Christians of the Nazi ideology.
00:14:35.10\00:14:38.43
In Bonhoeffer's view, Martin
Luther had made an important
00:14:38.43\00:14:41.96
correction to the monastic
movement of the Middle Ages
00:14:41.96\00:14:45.50
when he had emphasized
faith and God's forgiveness
00:14:45.50\00:14:48.66
as the only remedy
for sin, rather than works
00:14:48.66\00:14:52.46
that do nothing
to change the heart.
00:14:52.46\00:14:54.76
But Bonhoeffer believed@
that it was God's pardoning
00:14:54.76\00:14:58.23
grace that had been emphasized
almost to the exclusion
00:14:58.23\00:15:02.96
of sacrifice, self-discipline
and service to others
00:15:02.96\00:15:07.10
in the centuries
that followed Luther.
00:15:07.10\00:15:09.10
Here's Bonhoeffer again:@
'"The price we are having
00:15:09.10\00:15:13.00
to pay today in the shape of
the collapse of the organized
00:15:13.00\00:15:16.73
church is only the inevitable
consequence of our policy
00:15:16.73\00:15:20.43
of making grace available
to all at too low a cost.
00:15:20.43\00:15:25.33
We gave away the Word
and sacraments wholesale.
00:15:25.33\00:15:28.83
We baptized, confirmed
and absolved a whole nation
00:15:28.83\00:15:33.86
without condition.
00:15:33.86\00:15:35.83
Our humanitarian sentiment
made us give that which was holy
00:15:35.83\00:15:39.56
to the scornful and unbelieving.
00:15:39.56\00:15:41.56
But the call to follow Jesus
in the narrow way was hardly
00:15:41.56\00:15:47.53
ever heard." Could it be that
a cheap grace gospel has removed
00:15:47.53\00:15:53.00
the transformative
power of the Gospel from much
00:15:53.00\00:15:56.13
of Christian
preaching and teaching today?
00:15:56.13\00:15:59.16
Might it be that many
people have surrendered their
00:15:59.16\00:16:01.60
Christian beliefs to
popular culture, societal trends
00:16:01.60\00:16:06.00
and personal priorities?
00:16:06.00\00:16:08.66
Is there still a call
today to costly discipleship?
00:16:08.66\00:16:12.23
Do we still see
courage when majority opinion
00:16:12.23\00:16:15.66
no longer demands it?
00:16:15.66\00:16:18.63
Bonhoeffer spoke
strongly against cheap grace,
00:16:18.63\00:16:22.40
and so did the Bible writers.
00:16:22.40\00:16:24.20
In the Bible there is no
such thing as cheap grace.
00:16:24.20\00:16:27.50
Now, salvation is
free, no question about that.
00:16:27.50\00:16:30.73
We are saved by grace
through faith in %esus Christ.
00:16:30.73\00:16:34.33
Salvation cost God everything.
00:16:34.33\00:16:36.93
It costs us nothing.
00:16:36.93\00:16:39.10
Paul wrote in Romans 6:23,
'"The gift of God is eternal
00:16:39.10\00:16:43.86
life through Jesus
Christ our Lord." But the cost@@
00:16:43.86\00:16:47.03
of discipleship?
00:16:47.03\00:16:48.13
Now, that's another matter.
00:16:48.13\00:16:50.70
Bonhoeffer once wrote, '"When
Christ calls a man, He bids
00:16:50.70\00:16:54.70
him come and die." Which
is consistent with what you
00:16:54.70\00:16:58.03
read in the Bible.
00:16:58.03\00:16:59.43
Paul wrote that when a
person comes to Christ,
00:16:59.43\00:17:01.60
the old person dies and
a new person is created.
00:17:01.60\00:17:06.86
You see, the Gospel
involves transformation.
00:17:06.86\00:17:10.50
The Gospel contemplates
our completely recovery
00:17:10.50\00:17:13.20
from the power of sin.
00:17:13.20\00:17:15.83
Rightly
understood, grace is power.
00:17:15.83\00:17:19.50
It's God's power at work
in the life of a sinner,@
00:17:19.50\00:17:22.56
bringing that sinner to
the measure of the stature
00:17:22.56\00:17:25.70
of the fullness of Christ.
00:17:25.70\00:17:28.23
And that's good news.
00:17:28.23\00:17:30.50
[Music] So in a
sense it's no surprise
00:17:30.50\00:17:35.40
that so many German Christians,
when faced with Hitler's rise
00:17:35.40\00:17:40.63
to power, failed to
recognize what that might mean
00:17:40.63\00:17:43.66
in terms of the exercise
of their Christian faith.
00:17:43.66\00:17:47.00
Most Germans at that
time professed some form
00:17:47.00\00:17:49.36
of Christianity.
00:17:49.36\00:17:51.03
And today there are those
who say that if more people
00:17:51.03\00:17:53.73
had taken a stand like
that taken by Bonhoeffer
00:17:53.73\00:17:56.40
and his courageous colleagues,
the world may well have been
00:17:56.40\00:18:00.20
spared the slaughter of so
many millions during those Nazi
00:18:00.20\00:18:04.23
years.
00:18:04.23\00:18:05.23
I'll have more in a moment.
00:18:05.23\00:18:07.13
[Music]@
00:18:07.13\00:18:12.53
JB: '"Eyes for India" is
giving sight to the blind,
00:18:15.23\00:18:18.36
and you can be a
part of this amazing work
00:18:18.36\00:18:20.93
that God is doing.
00:18:20.93\00:18:22.40
Fifteen million blind people
live in India, more than any
00:18:22.40\00:18:25.63
other country in the world.
00:18:25.63\00:18:27.26
And many of the blind
in India could see again
00:18:27.26\00:18:30.23
if only they could have
simple cataract surgery.
00:18:30.23\00:18:33.53
It Is Written is
making that happen.
00:18:33.53\00:18:36.43
Would you support
'"Eyes for India"?
00:18:36.43\00:18:39.50
For just $75 you'll be giving
the gift of sight to someone
00:18:39.50\00:18:43.90
who desperately wants to see.
00:18:43.90\00:18:46.36
Here's all you need to do.
00:18:46.36\00:18:47.60
Call 1-800-253-3000
00:18:47.60\00:18:49.60
to donate and support '"Eyes
for India." Or you can write
00:18:51.00\00:18:55.53
to It Is Written, Box
O, Thousand Oaks, CA 91359.
00:18:55.53\00:18:59.63
You'll also find
'"Eyes for India" online
00:19:01.56\00:19:04.23
at itiswritten.com.@
00:19:04.23\00:19:07.93
[Music]@
00:19:09.80\00:19:16.60
>: [German] Fuhrer, heil
Hitler, [German] [Crowd cheers]
00:19:18.86\00:19:24.56
>: [German] [Crowd cheers]
>: [German] [Crowd cheers]
00:19:24.56\00:19:31.40
[German]@ JB: In the 1930s here
00:19:31.40\00:19:35.33
in Nuremburg, Germany,
Adolf Hitler was conducting
00:19:35.33\00:19:39.20
the Nuremburg rallies--massive
Nazi party propaganda events.
00:19:39.20\00:19:45.80
Vast crowds in the hundreds
of thousands would gather
00:19:45.80\00:19:50.06
right here to honor
Hitler as Germany's savior.
00:19:50.06\00:19:54.90
Support for Hitler was
rising; in fact, it was reaching
00:19:54.90\00:19:58.30
fever point.
00:19:58.30\00:19:59.90
Hitler was demonstrating
to the world that he
00:19:59.90\00:20:02.53
was a force that
would not be stopped.
00:20:02.53\00:20:05.50
It was while Hitler
was showing his strength
00:20:05.50\00:20:08.43
that Dietrich
Bonhoeffer, who had returned to
00:20:08.43\00:20:10.10
the United States,
decided it was time
00:20:10.10\00:20:14.00
to come back here to Germany.
00:20:14.00\00:20:16.93
Here's what he wrote: '"I
have come to the conclusion
00:20:16.93\00:20:20.76
that I made a
mistake in coming to America.
00:20:20.76\00:20:24.56
I must live through
this difficult period in our
00:20:24.56\00:20:27.50
national history with
the people of Germany.
00:20:27.50\00:20:31.26
I will have no
right to participate
00:20:31.26\00:20:33.76
in the reconstruction of
Christian life in Germany
00:20:33.76\00:20:36.56
after the war if I
do not share the trials
00:20:36.56\00:20:40.23
at this time with my people.
00:20:40.23\00:20:42.93
Christians in Germany
will have to face the terrible
00:20:42.93\00:20:45.93
alternative of either
willing the defeat of their
00:20:45.93\00:20:49.43
nation in order that Christian
civilization may survive,
00:20:49.43\00:20:53.56
or willing the victory
of their nation and thereby
00:20:53.56\00:20:56.96
destroying civilization.
00:20:56.96\00:21:00.13
I know which of these
alternatives I must choose,
00:21:00.13\00:21:03.33
but I cannot make
that choice from security."
00:21:03.33\00:21:07.26
He returned to Germany on
the last scheduled steamer
00:21:07.26\00:21:11.23
to cross the Atlantic.
00:21:11.23\00:21:12.36
Soon after
returning to Germany he joined
00:21:12.36\00:21:16.13
the Abwehr, a Germany military
intelligence organization
00:21:16.13\00:21:20.16
deeply involved in
plots against Hitler.
00:21:20.16\00:21:23.83
Before long, his
discovery of the Nazi atrocities
00:21:23.83\00:21:27.23
against the Jews and
others would drive him to decide
00:21:27.23\00:21:30.93
that any means of
overthrowing Hitler's rule,
00:21:30.93\00:21:33.60
even violent means,
were morally justifiable.
00:21:33.60\00:21:36.93
Bonhoeffer was finally
arrested on April 5, 1943.
00:21:36.93\00:21:44.46
The actual reasons for his
arrest are a little unclear.
00:21:44.46\00:21:49.60
But while he was in custody,
evidence surfaced of his
00:21:49.60\00:21:52.46
involvement in several
plots aimed at assassinating
00:21:52.46\00:21:56.23
the Fuhrer and
overthrowing Nazi rule.
00:21:56.23\00:21:59.40
[Music]
00:21:59.40\00:22:04.66
Although Bonhoeffer
had been in prison for over
00:22:06.73\00:22:09.13
a year by the time the
plot was attempted, documents
00:22:09.13\00:22:12.56
proving his involvement
soon surfaced in Berlin.
00:22:12.56\00:22:16.66
He was transferred to
Buchenwald concentration camp
00:22:16.66\00:22:20.06
and there here to
the concentration camp
00:22:20.06\00:22:22.80
in Flossenburg, Germany, where
before long, he would be put
00:22:22.80\00:22:27.03
to death.
00:22:27.03\00:22:28.60
While he was here,
Bonhoeffer wrote his famous
00:22:28.60\00:22:32.00
'"Letters From Prison,"
in which he urged Christian
00:22:32.00\00:22:35.33
believers to be true
to biblical principles
00:22:35.33\00:22:38.00
and faithful to God in
spite of the difficulties they
00:22:38.00\00:22:41.43
were facing.
00:22:41.43\00:22:42.63
His courage remained
strong and his faith unshaken,
00:22:42.63\00:22:47.46
as he waited for what
he knew was inevitable.
00:22:47.46\00:22:51.20
[Music] On April
8, 1945, in a trial
00:22:51.20\00:22:59.03
held without
witnesses, Dietrich Bonhoeffer
00:23:01.23\00:23:04.43
was found guilty of conspiracy
against the Nazi regime,
00:23:04.43\00:23:08.30
and was sentenced
to death by hanging.
00:23:08.30\00:23:11.73
The next morning at dawn,
just two weeks before the United
00:23:11.73\00:23:14.93
States Army liberated
Flossenburg, the faithful
00:23:14.93\00:23:19.63
pastor and
theologian was executed.
00:23:19.63\00:23:23.83
One man who witnessed
Bonhoeffer's execution
00:23:23.83\00:23:26.66
said this: '"I saw
Pastor Bonhoeffer, kneeling
00:23:26.66\00:23:31.03
on the floor,
praying fervently to God.
00:23:31.03\00:23:35.10
At the place of execution
he again said a short prayer
00:23:35.10\00:23:38.36
and then climbed the few
steps to the gallows, brave
00:23:38.36\00:23:42.13
and composed.
00:23:42.13\00:23:45.50
His death ensued
after a few seconds.
00:23:45.50\00:23:48.66
In the almost fifty years
that I worked as a doctor,@
00:23:48.66\00:23:52.80
I've hardly ever seen a
man die so entirely submissive
00:23:52.80\00:23:56.33
to the will of God."
00:23:56.33\00:23:58.33
So what about grace?
00:23:59.76\00:24:01.73
Is grace simply permission?
00:24:01.73\00:24:04.33
Is it permissiveness?
00:24:04.33\00:24:06.40
Is grace license?
00:24:06.40\00:24:08.30
Is it some kind of
get-out-of-jail-free card?
00:24:08.30\00:24:10.30
Is grace, well, it
doesn't really matter what I do
00:24:10.30\00:24:12.40
because, after all,
Jesus has got it covered?
00:24:12.40\00:24:15.66
Or does grace involve power?
00:24:15.66\00:24:17.33
Does grace bring transformation?
00:24:17.33\00:24:20.40
The gospel of Jesus
Christ calls for a commitment
00:24:20.40\00:24:23.20
to Jesus, a total
commitment to Jesus.
00:24:23.20\00:24:26.73
Jesus says that we are
not to be of this world.
00:24:26.73\00:24:29.66
He said in Matthew 22:37
that you should love the Lord
00:24:29.66\00:24:33.53
your God with all your
heart, with all your soul,
00:24:33.53\00:24:37.53
and with all your mind.
00:24:37.53\00:24:38.76
And quite simply, that's
just Jesus saying, if you'll
00:24:38.76\00:24:43.76
let Me, if you'll want
Me to, if you'll surrender
00:24:43.76\00:24:48.63
to Me, I'll come into your life
and impact you so radically,
00:24:48.63\00:24:54.50
so totally, that I'll make
a completely new person out
00:24:54.50\00:24:59.13
of you.
00:24:59.13\00:25:00.33
Jesus says, I'll do that
for you, and I'll do that
00:25:00.33\00:25:03.00
for you today, if you'll
let Me, if you want Me to.
00:25:03.00\00:25:10.76
Do you want that today?
00:25:10.76\00:25:13.70
[Music]
00:25:18.10\00:25:34.76
[Change of music]
00:25:38.20\00:25:41.33
JB: '"Revelation Today"
will help you understand
00:25:49.66\00:25:51.86
the great prophetic
movement of Earth's final days.
00:25:51.86\00:25:54.70
And I want you
to have this book.
00:25:54.70\00:25:57.10
I wrote '"Revelation
Today" so that it would be easy
00:25:57.10\00:25:59.73
to understand and yet
powerful, unfolding the major
00:25:59.73\00:26:04.03
prophecies
concerning the final movements
00:26:04.03\00:26:06.36
of Earth's history.
00:26:06.36\00:26:08.40
To get your free copy of
'"Revelation Today" from It
00:26:08.40\00:26:10.83
Is Written, call
1-800-253-3000 and ask
00:26:10.83\00:26:17.56
for '"Revelation Today."
00:26:17.56\00:26:19.13
That number to
call is 1-800-253-3000.
00:26:19.13\00:26:22.13
If the line is busy when
you call, please, keep calling.
00:26:23.86\00:26:27.33
Your call will be answered.
00:26:27.33\00:26:30.03
Or you can write to us
at It Is Written, Box O,
00:26:30.03\00:26:33.93
Thousand Oaks, CA
91359, and we'll mail a copy
00:26:33.93\00:26:39.06
to your address
in North America.
00:26:39.06\00:26:41.73
Also be sure to visit
our website, itiswritten.com,
00:26:41.73\00:26:45.73
where you'll discover
additional helpful resources
00:26:45.73\00:26:48.26
on a host of
life-changing topics.
00:26:48.26\00:26:52.90
JB: Let me pray with you today.
00:26:56.43\00:26:57.43
Our Father in Heaven, thank
you for the power of grace,
00:26:57.43\00:27:02.50
which allows us to be
yours in reality, not just in
00:27:02.50\00:27:06.00
name, not just in
profession, which transforms
00:27:06.00\00:27:10.10
us and makes us truly yours.
00:27:10.10\00:27:12.86
As we reflect upon the cost
of discipleship, I pray that
00:27:12.86\00:27:16.13
we will experience the
power, not of cheap grace,
00:27:16.13\00:27:18.43
but of your real,
saving, transforming grace.
00:27:18.43\00:27:23.60
We ask your blessing now,
and we pray in Jesus' name,
00:27:23.60\00:27:27.76
Amen.
00:27:27.76\00:27:33.70
[Music]
00:27:38.16\00:27:44.16
Thanks for joining me today.
00:27:48.86\00:27:49.90
I look forward to
seeing you again next time.
00:27:49.90\00:27:52.46
Until then, remember, '"It
is written, man shall not live
00:27:52.46\00:27:57.20
by bread alone, but by every
word that proceeds from the
00:27:57.20\00:28:01.53
mouth of God."
00:28:01.53\00:28:02.73
[Music]
00:28:03.26\00:28:05.90