Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Faith in Community

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussion of death.

One of the biggest obstacles to a healthy Christian community is piousness: “[B]ecause [Christians] have fellowship with one another as believers and as devout people, they do not have fellowship as the undevout, as sinners” (110). Christians must confess, not just to God but to one another, that they are sinners before true fellowship can occur. Additionally, Bonhoeffer says that hiding one’s sins is a lost cause because God knows one’s heart. Confession and forgiveness are essential to the Christian faith and arguably the primary reasons for the Gospel of Jesus to exist at all.

In “Breaking Through to Community” (112), Bonhoeffer writes that sin will only grow the longer it is hidden away from others. It keeps the sinner isolated spiritually, even if they are physically in the presence of fellow Christians. Confession and forgiveness are required if true community is desired. Bonhoeffer says, “The sin concealed separated [the Christian] from the fellowship […] the sin confessed has helped him find true fellowship in Jesus Christ” (113). Bonhoeffer promises readers that so long as a Christian is willing to confess, they will not go through life alone.

In “Breaking Through to the Cross” (113), Bonhoeffer examines what Christianity teaches is the root of all sin: pride. He argues that human nature wants to live life according to its own rules, not God’s. If a person values their own opinion (or themselves in general) too highly, it will be harder for that person to humbly confess their sins to another. However, to refuse the act of confession, Bonhoeffer says, is to refuse Jesus’s gift. The act of Christian confession is inherently a statement of belief in forgiveness through Jesus.

In “Breaking Through to New Life” (115), Bonhoeffer writes that confession should not be a shameful experience but a joyful one, for it is the discarding of the old person and the welcoming of the new one: “Confession is the renewal of the joy of baptism” (115). While it may be difficult at first, Christians can rest assured that there is freedom in confession and a new life that begins when they surrender the old one.

In “Breaking Through to Certainty” (115), Bonhoeffer expresses the idea that a Christian can experience the certainty of God’s love through confession to a fellow Christian. The reason for this involves the interpersonal nature of the exchange: “A man who confesses his sins in the presence of a brother knows that he is no longer alone with himself; he experiences the presence of God in the reality of the other person” (116). He adds that confession was given to Christians so that they may better understand God’s forgiveness.

Bonhoeffer adds that it is entirely possible for a Christian to experience and understand God’s forgiveness without confession to another Christian. He therefore clarifies that he is speaking to those who may wrestle with doubts about God’s love and forgiveness, which they may see firsthand through the community.

In “To Whom Confess?” (118), Bonhoeffer writes that one must first discern to whom they should confess. Bonhoeffer has one strict rule for this: “Only the brother under the cross can hear a confession” (118). Only a fellow Christian can understand the depth of what sin is because they have felt the weight of it themselves. For example, Bonhoeffer says that a psychiatrist will not understand that the guilt of sin is weighing a person down and will assume the sinner is merely sick. Fellow Christians, however, understand the grace and forgiveness that is theirs to give on behalf of God and the judgment that they must withhold. He argues that people who are not Christians will not be able to give the spiritual guidance that the sinner needs.

In “Two Dangers,” Bonhoeffer address two potential dangers involving confession. First, the person who hears the confession should not be the only person to whom the community confesses. It would be easy for this person to become overwhelmed and fall into a routine of passive rather than active listening. The second danger concerns the confessant. Bonhoeffer warns that the confessant should protect themselves from becoming pious in the act of confession and of making it routine. If one is only confessing because one is commanded to, not because one wants to, one is not meeting the true goal and purpose of confession.

In “The Joyful Sacrament” (120), Bonhoeffer turns to Holy Communion (also known as the Lord’s Supper). The Holy Communion is an ancient ritual that is meant to represent the communal observance of Jesus’s death on the cross. The group partakes of wine, to represent the blood that was shed, and bread, to represent the body that was crucified. The day before is meant for reflection on any sins that need to be confessed. Communion represents the forgiveness of all sins, including those recalled the day before. As the community takes part in this, they are all reminded of the gift of love and forgiveness they have each been given. Bonhoeffer writes, “The fellowship of the Lord’s Supper is the superlative fulfillment of Christian fellowship” (122).