Bultmann on grace

Influenced by both Luther and Barth, Bultmann makes the incongruity of grace the center of Pauline theology: this grace exposes, judges, and overcomes the perverted human desire to seek recognition and reward from our own resources. He likewise emphasizes the priority of grace, though distancing himself from the Augustinian understanding of predestination: God’s grace is prevenient (vorkommende) in opening up the possibility of a new self-understanding, not in determining how one will respond. Bultmann’s cautious treatment of Paul’s language of powers, and his emphasis on freedom, decision, and obedience, signal his reluctance to perfect the efficacy of grace, at least as found in the Augustinian and Calvinist traditions. Unlike Marcion and modern liberalism (but here like Augustine and Calvin), for Bultmann, grace is not singular in the sense that it is incompatible with notions of divine judgment and wrath: it is, rather, the paradoxical act of the righteous judge. Nor is it noncircular in the sense that it carries no demands: Bultmann’s emphasis on the demand of grace and the obedience of faith is markedly different from Luther’s, at least in tone. For Bultmann, to speak of “pure gift” or “radical grace” means above all one thing: there are no grounds for boasting before God, whose grace operates not in accordance with human effort but precisely to undercut the self-destructive human desire to establish our own righteousness and worth.—J. M. G. Barclay, Paul and the Gift, 140

Praise the Lord! ye heav'ns adore him

42 Praise the Lord! ye heav'ns adore him

1 Praise the Lord! ye heav'ns adore him;
   Praise him angels, in the height;
   Sun and moon, rejoice before him;
   Praise him, all ye stars of light.
   Praise the Lord! for he has spoken;
   Worlds his mighty voice obeyed;
   Laws which never shall be broken
   For their guidance he has made.

2 Praise the Lord! for he is glorious;
   Never shall his promise fail;
   God has made his saints victorious;
   Sin and death shall not prevail.
   Praise the God of our salvation!
   Hosts on high his pow'r proclaim;
   Heav'n, and earth, and all creation,
   Laud and magnify his name.
                         Psalm 148
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
While the Methodist hymnal doesn't list an author,Hymnary.org lists a Richard Mant as the translator from the Latin. They also add a verse:

3 Worship, honor, glory, blessing,
   Lord, we offer unto thee;
   Young and old, thy praise expressing,
   In glad homage bend the knee.
   All the saints in heav'n adore thee,
   We would bow before thy throne;
   As thine angels serve before thee,
   So on earth thy will be done.

</idle musing>

Integral, but not prior

Calvin insists, “Christ justifies no one whom he does not at the same time sanctify” ([Inst.] III.16.1). Calvin is unwilling to follow the Lutheran distinction between inner saving faith and outer works of service, because the believers good works are integral to participation in Christ, whose purpose is to conform believers into his image (Rom 8:29) and thus to transform them into some approximation of the holiness of God (Inst. IIl.8.1). Calvin’s task—and considerable achievement—is to position a life of good works within the scheme of salvation, without making these works instrumental in obtaining or “meriting” grace, that is, without compromising the priority and incongruity of grace. To the extent that he succeeded, he laid the foundation for a Protestant theology of grace that envisaged an extended narrative of moral progress as an integral element of the life of faith.—J. M. G. Barclay, Paul and the Gift, 124

Party on! (Tozer for a Tuesday)

We want to play and have no hesitation advertising our Bible conferences as religious playgrounds, which proves how carnal we are. We live a life of play and trifles. In order to get many Christians interested in Bible study or missions, it must be camouflaged as play to make it more palatable. A carnal Christian must be tricked into studying the Bible and it must be made out to be something that is fun.—A.W. Tozer, Reclaiming Christianity, 125

O How Glorious, Full of Wonder

41 O How Glorious, Full of Wonder

1. O how glorious, full of wonder
   Is thy name o’er all the earth;
   Thou who wrought creation’s splendor,
   Bringing suns and stars to birth!
   Rapt in reverence we adore thee,
   Marveling at thy mystic ways,
   Humbly now we bow before thee,
   Lifting up our hearts in praise.

2. When we see they lights of heaven,
   Moon and stars, thy power displayed,
   What is man that thou shouldst love him,
   Creature that thy hand hath made?
   Child of earth, yet full of yearning,
   Mixture strange of good and ill,
   From thy ways so often turning,
   Yet thy love doth seek him still.

3. Thou hast given man dominion
   O’er the wonders of thy hand,
   Made him fly with eagle pinion,
   Master over sea and land,
   Soaring spire and ruined city,
   These our hopes and failures show,
   Teach us more of human pity,
   That we in thine image grow.

4. O how wondrous, O how glorious
   Is thy name in every land!
   Thou whose purpose moves before us
   Toward the goal that thou hast planned.
   ‘Tis thy will our hearts are seeking,
   Conscious of our human need.
   Spirit in our spirit speaking,
   Make us sons of God indeed!
                         Curtis Beach
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
The story behind this hymn is interesting. Read it here.
</idle musing>

More on Luther and grace

The superabundance of divine grace (“the overwhelming goodness of God”) is identified by Luther first and foremost with the Christ—event, not with the gifts of creation or nature. As we have seen, the Pauline terminology of “grace” is taken to signify a relationship of favor, not a quality in the character of God nor, by infusion, a human quality or capacity. God’s favorable relation to humanity is embodied in the gift of Christ, who comes to us only as the Savior who gives, not as a Legislator or Judge who demands. In this respect, Luther’s theology tends toward perfecting the singularity of grace, though (unlike Marcion) only in dialectical relationship to the law of the same God, who is “hidden” behind apparent contradictions, and with his “other hand” threatens us with judgment. The priority of grace is also fundamental for Luther: his Augustinian tradition equips him to make strong statements about the predestination of the elect, but he is wary to enter this perplexing terrain since the essence of the gospel is its address to individual lives, not the eternal disposition of God toward the world. At the heart of the gospel is the gift of Christ, “the foundation and chief blessing of salvation.” In Aristotelian terms, it is not the works that make the person, but the person who makes the works; in Lutheran terms, persons are reconstituted when they receive the all-sufficient gift of God in Christ. Sola gratia thus preserves the sense that all that is essential to salvation has not just been started but has already been achieved by Christ (solus Christus).—J. M. G. Barclay, Paul and the Gift, 110–11

Luther and imputation

As recent analysis has rightly shown, Luther thereby melds the Pauline themes of justification by faith and participation in Christ without the polarity that has often arisen in later readings of Paul. Where Luther uses the language of “imputation,” this is never a bare “forensic” metaphor, and certainly involves no “fiction,” since Christ’s righteousness is real and really shared by the believer.“ Believers are justified by union with Christ.—J. M. G. Barclay, Paul and the Gift, 107–8

Many and Great, O God (Dakota hymn)

40 Many and Great, O God

1 Many and great, O God, are your works, maker of earth and sky.
   Your hands have set the heavens with stars;
   your fingers spread the mountains and plains.
   Lo, at your word the waters were formed; deep seas obey your voice.

2 Grant unto us communion with you, O star-abiding One.
   Come unto us and dwell with us;
   with you are found the gifts of life.
   Bless us with life that has no end, eternal life with you.
                         American Folk Hymn
                         Paraphrase by Philip Frazier
                         The Methodist Hymnal 1964 edition

<idle musing>
Actually, it isn't an "American Folk Hymn"; it's a Dakota hymn. Hymnary.org gives the original Dakota:

1 Wakantanka taku nitawa tankaya qa ota;
   mahpiya kin eyahnake ça,
   maka kin he duowanca;
   mniowanca śbeya wanke cin, hena oyakihi.

2 Woehdaku nitawa kin he minaġi kin qu wo;
   mahpiya kin iwankam yati,
   wicowaśte yuha nanka,
   wiconi kin he mayaqu nun, owihanke wanin.

According to hymnary.org, there is no information available about the translator. They also say the hymn only occurs in 46 hymnals. I don't recall ever singing it, or even hearing it sung.
</idle musing>