Bonhoeffer was arrested because of his illegal activities in the resistance movement. Bonhoeffer has been hailed by secular and political theologians as an outstanding example of political involvement on behalf of the oppressed. What they have not sufficiently discerned is that Bonhoeffer's political acts were motivated by a deep religious faith in the God of the Bible, by an unequivocal commitment to the gospel of reconciliation and redemption. Bonhoeffer will come to be appreciated in this new age of persecution for his devotion to Jesus Christ and not simply for his political heroism. We are fighting today for costly grace.
Cheap grace means grace sold on the market like cheapjack's wares.
The sacraments, the forgiveness of sin, and the consolations of religion are thrown away at cut prices. Grace is represented as the Church's inexhaustible treasury, from which she showers blessings with generous hands, without asking questions or fixing limits. Since the cost was infinite, the possibilities of using and spending it are infinite. Cheap grace means grace as a doctrine, a principle, a system. An intellectual assent to that idea is held to be of itself sufficient to secure remission of sins.