Week 6: Salt, Light, and the Righteousness of Christ

1.Bonhoeffer argues that the community of disciples is called to be the salt of the earth — but that salt which has lost its flavor is good for nothing. He connects the loss of flavor directly to the loss of costly grace. How does a church that has embraced cheap grace lose its saltiness? Can you give a concrete example?

2.He insists that the disciples' good works must be visible — "a city on a hill cannot be hidden" — not so that the disciples receive praise, but so that the Father is glorified. What is the difference between visibility that glorifies God and visibility that glorifies us? How do you tell which is which in your own life?

3.Bonhoeffer argues that the church is meant to be a visible community, not a collection of privately spiritual individuals. He is deeply suspicious of a Christianity that retreats into inner spiritual life and abandons the visible, corporate witness. How does this challenge the individualistic spirituality common in our culture?