Top 30 inspirational Dietrich Bonhoeffer quotes

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German pastor and theologian who was executed at an early age due to his resistance against to Nazi dictatorship in the 40’s.

Bonhoeffer is celebrated in the Christian community for his bravery, dedication, selflessness and strive towards living a righteousness.

Let his story inspire you to fight for justice.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer Quotes

1. “Your life as a Christian should make non believers question their disbelief in God.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

2. “He who loves community destroys community; he who loves the brethren builds community.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

3. “If you do a good job for others, you heal yourself at the same time, because a dose of joy is a spiritual cure.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

4. “When people are deeply affected by the Word, they tell it to other people.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

5. “When you read the Bible, you must think that here and now, God is speaking with me.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

6. “One cannot simply read the Bible, like other books. One must be prepared really to enquire of it. Only thus will it reveal itself. Only if we expect from it the ultimate answer, shall we receive it. That is because in the Bible God speaks to us. And one cannot simply think about God in one’s own strength, one has to inquire of him. Only if we seek him, will he answer us.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

7. “If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

8. “Love asks nothing in return, but seeks those who need it. And who needs our love more than those who are consumed with hatred and are utterly devoid of love.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

9. “I need the Christ that is in you, and you need the Christ that is in me.”– Dietrich Bonhoeffer

.10 “God loves human beings. God loves the world. Not an ideal human, but human beings as they are; not an ideal world, but the real world.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

11. “A pastor should never complain about his congregation, certainly never to other people, but also not to God. A congregation has not been entrusted to him in order that he should become its accuser before God and men.”– Dietrich Bonhoeffer

12. “God is not a God of the emotions but the God of truth.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

13. “It is a blessed thing to know that no power on earth, no temptation, no human frailty can dissolve what God holds together.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

14. “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

15. “I believe that nothing that happens to me is meaningless and that it is good for us all that it should be so, even if it runs counter to our own wishes. As I see it, I’m here for some purpose, and I only hope I may fulfill it.”– Dietrich Bonhoeffer

16. “The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves to its children.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

17. “If my sinfulness appears to me to be in any way smaller or less detestable in comparison with the sins of others, I am still not recognizing my sinfulness at all.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

18. “Christianity preaches the infinite worth of that which is seemingly worthless and the infinite worthlessness of that which is seemingly so valued.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

19. “The will of God, to which the law gives expression, is that men should defeat their enemies by loving them.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

.20 “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

21. “May we be enabled to say ‘No’ to sin and ‘Yes’ to the sinner.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

22. “Being a Christan is less about cautiously avoiding sin than about courageously and actively doing God’s will.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

23. “Do not worry! Earthly goods deceive the human heart into believing that they give it security and freedom from worry. But in truth, they are what cause anxiety.”– Dietrich Bonhoeffer

24. “The Church is the Church only when it exists for others…not dominating, but helping and serving. It must tell men of every calling what it means to live for Christ, to exist for others.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

25. “So many people come to church with a genuine desire to hear what we have to say, yet they are always going back home with the uncomfortable feeling that we are making it too difficult for them to come to Jesus.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

26. “Earthly goods are given to be used, not to be collected. In the wilderness God gave Israel the manna every day, and they had no need to worry about food and drink. Indeed, if they kept any of the manna over until the next day, it went bad. In the same way, the disciple must receive his portion from God every day. If he stores it up as a permanent possession, he spoils not only the gift, but himself as well, for he sets his heart on accumulated wealth, and makes it a barrier between himself and God. Where our treasure is, there is our trust, our security, our consolation and our God. Hoarding is idolatry.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

27. “It is only because he became like us that we can become like him.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

28. “Time is the most valuable thing that we have, because it is the most irrevocable.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

29. “Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

30. “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

Bonus quotes

31. “We must learn to regard people less in the light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

32. “We pray for the big things and forget to give thanks for the ordinary, small (and yet really not small) gifts.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

33. “It is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer

34. “The deceit, the lie of the Devil consists of this, that he wishes to make man believe that he can live without God’s Word.”– Dietrich Bonhoeffer