Posted on by Kurt Bodling

freedom and levity

"There is a refreshing, ludic quality to the lives of the early desert Christians. They anticipated the dictum of Thomas Aquinas that ‘unmitigated seriousness betokens a lack of virtue.’ …

“Only those having sustained the terrors of the cross can understand the raucous laughter of resurrection. Only the ones who have died completely to the expectations of the world are free to be truly eccentric, off-center by every standard of the majority.”

Lane, Belden C. The Solace of Fierce Landscapes: Exploring Desert and Mountain Spirituality. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998, pp. 170-171

Posted on by Kurt Bodling

people’s attitude

“Except for the very few who are faithful and gratefully accept God’s word the majority are ungrateful, stubborn, brash, and live as if God had given us his word because we deserved it.”

Luther, Martin. “Appeal for Prayer Against the Turks” (1541) Luther’s Works Vol. 43. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1969, page 220

Posted on by Kurt Bodling

knowing God

“We know God aright when we grasp him not in his might or wisdom (for then he proves terrifying), but in his kindness and love. Then faith and confidence are able to exist, and then man is truly born anew in God.”

Luther, Martin. “A Meditation on Christ’s Passion” (1519) Luther’s Works Vol. 42. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1969, page 13.

Comment: How do we really know God? Not through the Law (which holds us at arm’s length) but through the Gospel (which wraps us up in God’s loving arms).

Posted on by Kurt Bodling

benefit of Christ’s suffering

“We must give ourselves wholly to this matter, for the main benefit of Christ’s passion is that man sees into his own true self and that he be terrified and crushed by this. Unless we seek that knowledge, we do not derive much benefit from Christ’s passion.”

Luther, Martin. “A Meditation on Christ’s Passion” (1519) Luther’s Works Vol. 42. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1969, page 10.

Comment: Here Luther says that the main benefit to us of Christ’s passion is the crushing of the Law. It comes down to the fact that if I had not sinned then Christ would not have had to suffer and die. The grace only benefits me after that.

Posted on by Kurt Bodling

the Holy Spirit is given in faith

“Faith creates godliness and drives out all sin, grants strength in sickness, enlightens in all blindness, heals all evil inclinations, guards against sin, and performs every good deed. In brief, the fruit of such faith is that never can there remain any frailty; for in faith the Holy Spirit is given, and thereby a man loves God because of the abundant goodness received from him. A man becomes cheerful and glad to do all that is good without the compulsion of the law and command.”  (page 175)

Luther, Martin. “Sermon on the Worthy Reception of the Sacrament” (1521) Luther’s Works Vol. 42. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1969.

Posted on by Kurt Bodling

staying afloat

“Our efforts to stay afloat — that is, our efforts to earn God’s love — are always counterproductive. We must simply open our spiritual eyes and see that we are in a river of God’s love and that our staying afloat and moving along are God’s responsibility. All we have to do is surrender.”

(Benner, David G. Surrender to Love: Discovering the Heart of Christian Spirituality. Expanded ed. Downers Grove, Ill: IVP Books, 2015, p. 62)

I’ve read that a drowning person being rescued by a lifeguard needs to relax and let the lifeguard do the work. Similarly, the sinner being saved by God needs to relax and let God do the saving. In either case, let your savior do the work. You’ll be better off for it.

Posted on by Kurt Bodling

where we focus

“Perhaps not surprisingly, Christians who assume that God is preoccupied with sin tend themselves to adopt the same focus. … Unfortunately, while they may give intellectual assent to God’s love, they often experience very little of it.”

(Benner, David G. Surrender to Love: Discovering the Heart of Christian Spirituality. Expanded ed. Downers Grove, Ill: IVP Books, 2015, p. 22)

Benner make an interesting comment about the result of where we focus of our attention. We can either zero in on the Law, or on the Gospel. This is not to say that either pole is erased. Both are still there. But if we think of God first as a law-giver, Benner says we’ll likely be legalists. If we think of God first as our gracious Savior, we’ll likely be Gospel-oriented.

Posted on by Kurt Bodling

benefits of Christ’s suffering

Note:
Here Luther says that the main benefit to us of Christ’s passion is that we are crushed by the Law. Surprising? It comes down to understanding the fact that if I had not sinned then Christ would not have had to suffer and die. Each of us can truthfully say “I am personally responsible for Jesus’s death.” The grace only benefits me after that.

And, of course, no competent preacher or witness leaves hearers crushed by the Law. We must always, always make sure that the Gospel is then spoken clearly and completely.

Quote:
“We must give ourselves wholly to this matter, for the main benefit of Christ’s passion is that man sees into his own true self and that he be terrified and crushed by this. Unless we seek that knowledge, we do not derive much benefit from Christ’s passion.”  (page 10)

Source: Luther, Martin. “A Meditation on Christ’s Passion” (1519) Luther’s Works Vol. 42. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1969.

Posted on by Kurt Bodling

rightly knowing God

Note:
How do we really know God? Not through the Law (which holds us at arm’s length) but through the Gospel (which wraps us up in God’s loving arms).

Quote:
“We know God aright when we grasp him not in his might or wisdom (for then he proves terrifying), but in his kindness and love. Then faith and confidence are able to exist, and then man is truly born anew in God.”  (page 13)

Source: Luther, Martin. “A Meditation on Christ’s Passion” (1519) Luther’s Works Vol. 42. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1969.