Martin Luther and Predestination

The doctrine of predestination or election has confused and separated Christians for hundreds of years. To believe in predestination is to believe that we are "saved," born-again, or brought to faith in Jesus Christ because God has chosen us for salvation. Both Luther and Calvin believed in predestination. But if the doctrine of predestination is logically "pushed," many difficult questions arise: Does God choose people for damnation? Can the grace of God be resisted? Did Jesus die for all sinners or only for the elect? Can a Christian fall away from the faith?

These questions have caused a major debate within Protestant Christianity. Let us consider the participants and the particulars.

 John Calvin:

John Calvin (1509-1564), a French theologian living in Geneva, was, after Martin Luther, the key figure in the Protestant Reformation. "Reformed" churches follow Calvin’s interpretation of Scripture. His massive Institutes of the Christian Religion set forth his systematic theology.  Calvin’s understanding of predestination is summarized by five points. The first letter of each definition comprises the famous TULIP of the Calvinist five-point theology:

1.Total Depravity: Because of the fall, man is unable of himself to savingly believe the gospel. The sinner is deaf, blind, and dead to the things of God; his heart is deceitful and desperately corrupt. His will is not free, it is in bondage to his evil nature, therefore, he will not—indeed he cannot—choose good over evil in the spiritual realm.

2. Unconditional Election: God’s choice of certain individuals unto salvation before the foundation of the world rested solely in His own sovereign will. His choice of particular sinners was not based on any foreseen response or obedience on their part, such as faith, repentance, etc. On the contrary, God gives faith and repentance to each individual whom he selected.

3 Limited Atonement: Christ’s redeeming work was intended to save the elect only and actually secured salvation for them. His death was a substitutionary endurance of the penalty of sin in the place of certain specified sinners. The gift of faith is infallibly applied by the Spirit to all for whom Christ died, therefore guaranteeing their salvation.

4.Irresistible Grace: In addition to the outward general call to salvation which is made to everyone who hears the Gospel, the Holy Spirit extends to the elect a special inward call that inevitably brings them to salvation. The external call (which is made to all without distinction) can be, and often is, rejected; whereas the internal call (which is made only to the elect) cannot be rejected; it always results in conversion. By means of this special call the Spirit irresistibly draws sinners to Christ.

5, Perseverance of the Saints: All who are chosen by God, redeemed by Christ, and given faith by the Spirit are eternally saved. They are kept in faith by the power of Almighty God and thus persevere to the end (once saved, always saved).

John Calvin’s logical system of theology built upon the doctrine of election or predestination has resulted in two primary reactions: Universalism and Arminianism..

Universalism:

The major criticism of Calvin’s understanding of predestination was: "It is not fair!" Would God simply choose to send people to hell without offering them any opportunity for salvation? Some reacted against Calvin by the extreme teaching of "universal salvation".

John Murray (1741-1815) believed that every individual shall in due time be separated from sin. Of Calvinist background, he was influenced by the Methodism of John Wesley but was converted to Universalism, the doctrine of universal redemption. He organized the first American Universalist Church in 1779 at Gloucester, Mass.

Hosea Ballou (1771-1852), a New England theologian and clergyman, formulated the basic tenets of Universalism. Upon reacting against the Calvinist position on salvation of the elect only, he began teaching that all people are saved (universal salvation) and that there is no eternal punishment.

The Universalist Church of America and the American Unitarian Association merged in 1961 to form a single denomination—the Unitarian Universalist Association—which currently has about 173,000 members. Unitarian Universalists, because of their rejection of the doctrine of the Trinity and distortion of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, are not regarded as a Christian denomination.

Arminianism:

Arminianism, which takes its name from Jacobus Arminius (Jakob Harmensen), is a theological revision of Calvinism that limits the significance of the doctrine of predestination. Arminius (1560 - 1609) was a Dutch Reformed theologian who taught that God’s sovereign will and human free will are compatible. The name Remonstrants was given to his followers who in 1610 drew up a document known as the Remonstrance. This document set forth a revision of Calvinism: Christ died for all, not only for the elect; divine grace is not irresistible; Christians can fall from grace through free will, and be lost. These affirmations constituted a rejection of the most extreme Calvinist interpretation of predestination. The Remonstrants were condemned by the Dutch Reformed Church at the Synod of Dort (1618 - 1619).

Modern Protestant Arminianism counters the five points of Calvinism by declaring:

1.Although human nature was seriously affected by the fall, man has not been left in a state of total spiritual helplessness. Each sinner possesses a free will, and his eternal destiny depends on how he uses it.

2. God’s choice of certain individuals unto salvation before the foundation of the world was based upon His foreseeing that they would respond to His call. He selected only those whom He knew would of themselves freely believe the Gospel.

3. Christ’s redeeming work made it possible for everyone to be saved but did not actually secure the salvation of anyone.

4. The Spirit calls inwardly all those who are called outwardly by the Gospel invitation; He does all that He can to bring every sinner to salvation. but inasmuch as man is free, he can successfully resist the Spirit’s call, The Spirit cannot regenerate the sinner until he believes; faith (which is man’s contribution) precedes and makes possible the new birth.

5. Those who believe and are truly saved can lose their salvation by failing to keep up their faith, etc. 

All Arminians have not been agreed on this point; some have held that believers are eternally secure in Christ, that once a sinner is regenerated, he can never be lost.

What does the Bible teach?

The Scriptures clearly teach that fallen man is not capable of cooperating with God in spiritual matters. He is spiritually dead and an enemy of God. For example:

Ephesians 2:1: And you [hath he quickened], who were dead in trespasses and sins.

Ephesians 4:18: Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them. because of the blindness of their heart:

To say that man is not dead in trespasses and sin and is capable of making a decision, or cooperating with God is an example of the heresy of Pelagianism. Charles Finney, the father of modern Evangelical Revivalism, taught that faith is a decision based on persuasive argumentation and emotionalism, Man decides to be born-again. Finney rejected the imputation of the righteousness of Christ to the believer, claiming that such imputation hindered moral reform. Essentially, Finney returned to the theology of Rome.

There is clear biblical evidence to support a doctrine of predestination or election. For example, in Romans 8: 28-30 we read:

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

Of course, this biblical teaching raises many questions which confound human reason. If a person is saved because he is chosen for salvation, what about those who are not saved? Do they wind up in hell because they have been chosen for damnation or, to put it another way, not chosen for salvation? Has God limited His great salvation only to the elect? Alternatively, if a person by free will can reject the Gospel, why could he not also by free will accept the Gospel?

While in the Old Testament God specifically chose the nation of Israel from whom the Messiah would appear, when it comes to the application of the great salvation won for us by the promised Messiah, the biblical witness is clear. It is God’s desire for everyone, not simply a certain chosen people, to be saved. God’s grace is universal. The entire message of the New Testament is inclusive. To limit the scope of God grace to merely a select group of people is a major distortion of the divine intention. The following verses, together with many other verses in the New Testament, speak of God’s universal grace.

I Timothy 2:3-4: For this [is] good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

John 3:16: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

2 Corinthians 5:15: And [that] he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

2 Corinthians 5:19: To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself not imputing their trespasses unto them: and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

I John 2: 2: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for [the sins of] the whole world.

Those who believe that God’s grace is limited to the elect and that the atonement was only for the elect interpret the words "all men," or "all," or "the world" to mean the Christians or the elect. In so doing they are imposing their preconceptions on Scripture and not allowing Scripture to simply speak. It is what is called eisegesis (reading a meaning into the text) rather than exegesis (pulling the meaning out of the text).

Through the preaching of the Gospel, declaring the universal grace and love of God, the sinner is brought to faith and reaps the benefits of God's great salvation, namely, the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. Those same gifts and benefits are imparted through infant Baptism.

The Bible clearly teaches that sinful man is able to resist the Holy Spirit and reject the grace of God. A person who ends up in hell is not there because he has been consigned to hell by God’s sovereign choice, but rather because he has rejected the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For example:

Matthew 23:37: 0 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, [you] that kill the prophets, and stones them which are sent to you, how often would I have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under [her] wings, and you would not!

Mark 7:9: And he said unto them, Full well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your own tradition.

Acts 7:51: You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you do always resist the Holy Spirit: as your fathers [did], so [do] you.

2 Timothy 3:8: Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.

Hebrews 4:7: Again, he limits a certain day saying in David, Today, after so long a time; as it is said, Today if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts

Finally, while God promises to keep us from falling (Jude 1:24) and to complete the work of redemption in us (Philippians 1:6), because of the reality of our sinful nature, the Bible teaches that we can reject and turn away from the truth of the Gospel. If falling away was not possible, there would be no reason for all the New Testament admonitions and warnings. Jesus himself, in the parable of the sower, speaks of those who believe but later fall away.

 Luke 8: 6-8 And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear

Jesus explains this parable by saying:

Luke 8: 11-14 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the way side are they that hear; then comes the devil, and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved They on the rock [are they], which, when they hear, receive the word with joy: and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of [this] life, and bring no fruit to perfection.

To say that man is saved because he is elect and damned because he rejects the Gospel is obviously illogical. Our task is not to make Scripture logical but to accept what is revealed and leave the mystery to God. The Formula of Concord rejects the following positions:

1. The doctrine that God does not want all men to come to repentance and to believe the Gospel.
2. Furthermore, the doctrine that God is not serious about wanting all men to come to him when he calls us to him.
3. Furthermore, that God does not want everybody to be saved, but that merely by an arbitrary counsel, purpose, and will, without regard for their sin, God has predestined certain people to damnation so that they cannot be saved.

Martin Luther and Predestination:

 If you should initiate an Internet search of “Luther and Double Predestination” you will come across numerous articles written by Reformed theologians attempting to demonstrate that Luther embraced the Calvinist understanding of predestination. (Oddly, you will find no articles by Lutheran theologian attempting to prove that Calvin was a Lutheran.) Most, of the evidence, is taken from Luther’s Bondage of the Will (1525) in which he responded to the noted Humanist scholar Desiderius Erasmus regarding the subject of free will. Luther regarded this as his most important work, not because it presented a full-blown treatment of the doctrine of predestination, but because he successfully refuted the Erasmian notion that man by his own free will can follow the "philosophy of Jesus" and perform meritorious works worthy of salvation. This was the primary controverted issue of the Reformation. There is no doubt that Luther in his treatise emphasized the sovereignty of God who elects those who would be saved and chooses to leave the reprobate, especially Judas, Pharaoh, and Esau in their sin.

The most difficult Luther quote comes from his 1516 notes from his Lectures on Romans. He seems to be embracing a double predestination and limited atonement. This quote is often used to demonstrate that Luther was actually a Calvinist. Regarding Romans 8:28, Luther writes:

The second argument is that “God desires all men to be saved” (1 Tim. 2:4), and He gave His Son for us men and created man for eternal life. Likewise: All things exist for man, and he himself exists for God that he may enjoy Him, etc.These points and others like them can be refuted as easily as the first one. For these verses must always be understood as pertaining to the elect only, as the apostle says in 2 Tim. 2:10 “everything for the sake of the elect.” For in an absolute sense Christ did not die for all, because He says: “This is My blood which is poured out for you” and “for many”—He does not say: for all—“for the forgiveness of sins” (Mark 14:24, Matt. 26:28).Luther, M. (1999, c1972). Vol. 25:  Lectures on Romans , Romans 8:28,(J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann, Ed.). Luther's Works. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House. 

In this section, Luther provides no comfort for those who fear the wrath of God. He simply says that they should "resign themselves to hell if God so wills." In his notes on Romans, he also accepts the notion of purgatory. Written in 1516, this is Martin Luther as an Augustinian Roman Catholic Monk before the posting of the Theses and before his converting Tower Experience of 1519 when the concept of the righteousness of God, defining God as being an angry, just and righteous Judge, became the very righteousness that God gave as a gift in Christ Jesus. Luther's theology grew beyond these notions of an angry God who predestines people to hell. At this time in his life, Luther was conflicted regarding predestination. It was the primary cause of his Anfechtung. He often deals with the subject of predestination in his Lectures on Genesis (1535-1536), written twenty years after his notes on Romans and ten years after The Bondage of the Will. 

Observe how pleasantly and kindly God delivers you from this horrible trial with which Satan besets people today in strange ways in order to make them doubtful and uncertain, and eventually even to alienate them from the Word. “For why should you hear the Gospel,” they say, “since everything depends on predestination?” In this way he robs us of the predestination guaranteed through the Son of God and the sacraments. He makes us uncertain where we are completely certain. And if he attacks timid consciences with this trial, they die in despair, as would almost have happened to me if Staupitz had not delivered me from the same trial when I was troubled...Staupitz used to comfort me with these words: “Why do you torture yourself with these speculations? Look at the wounds of Christ and at the blood that was shed for you. From these predestination will shine. Consequently, one must listen to the Son of God, who was sent into the flesh and appeared to destroy the work of the devil (1 John 3:8) and to make you sure about predestination. And for this reason He says to you: ‘You are My sheep because you hear My voice’ (John 10:27). ‘No one shall snatch you out of My hands’ Lther, M. (1999, c1968). Vol. 5: Luther's Works,: Lectures on Genesis: Chapters 26-30 (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann, Ed.). Luther's Works (Ge 26:10). Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House. 

If one takes the time to peruse the writing of Martin Luther they will discover his position regarding the difficult doctrine of predestination..Discussion of it should be avoided. Satan uses this doctrine to either produce a false sense of security or doubt and uncertainty. In fact, Luther would probably consign this blog to the dung heap. He wrote:

Accordingly, you who are listening to me now should remember that I have taught that one should not inquire into the predestination of the hidden God but should be satisfied with what is revealed through the calling and through the ministry of the Word. For then you can be sure about your faith and salvation and say: “I believe in the Son of God, who said (John 3:36): ‘He who believes in the Son has eternal life.’ Lectures on Genesis

A dispute about predestination should be avoided entirely... I forget everything about Christ and God when I come upon these thoughts and actually get to the point to imagining that God is a rogue. We must stay in the word, in which God is revealed to us and salvation is offered, if we believe him. But in thinking about predestination, we forget God . . However, in Christ are hid all the treasures (Col. 2:3); outside him all are locked up. Therefore, we should simply refuse to argue about election.Plass, "What Luther Says," under "Election." 

Some years ago I spoke at a joint Lutheran and Reformed gathering at Wheaton College. The subject matter was the three solas of the Reformation: Grace Alone, Faith Alone, Scripture Alone. My subject was "Faith Alone." A very well-known Reformed theologian began the conference with a presentation on "Grace Alone." From my perspective as a Lutheran, "Grace Alone" defined the redemptive work of God through the shed blood of Jesus on the Cross. "Faith Alone" spoke of the Means of Grace, the preaching of the Gospel, whereby faith is worked by the Holy Spirit so that the benefits of God's great salvation are received.

I was shocked to hear this man define "Grace Alone," not by the cross of Jesus Christ; not by His precious blood shed for us; not by His perfect righteousness whereby we are declared righteous; not by His glorious Resurrection whereby we have the assurance of eternal life, but by the doctrine of predestination or election. I could not believe what I was hearing. As far as I was concerned, it was a different Gospel. Martin Luther would respond to this presentation by saying:

Here, now, for once we must put a stop to those wicked and high flying spirits who first apply their own reason to this matter. They begin at the top to search the abyss of divine predestination, and worry in vain about whether they are predestinated. They are bound to plunge to their own destruction, either through despair, or through throwing caution to the winds. But you had better follow the order of this epistle. (Romans) Worry first about Christ and the gospel, that you may recognize your sin and his grace. Then fight your sin, as the first eight chapters here have taught. Then, when you have reached the eighth chapter, and are under the cross and suffering, this will teach you correctly of predestination in chapters 9, 10, and 11, and how comforting it is. For in the absence of suffering and the cross and the perils of death, one cannot deal with predestination without harm and without secret anger against God. The old Adam must first die before he can tolerate this thing and drink the strong wine. Therefore beware that you do not drink wine while you are still a suckling. There is a limit, a time, and an age for every doctrine. Luther, M. (1999, c1960). Vol. 35: Luther's works, vol. 35 : Word and Sacrament I (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann, Ed.). Luther's Works ( Page 378). Philadelphia: Fortress Press.

Martin Luther did not know of the confusion and contentions that would later exist among Christians and the major heresies such as Universalism and the rebirth of Pelagianism that would arise as the result of the debates over the doctrine of predestination. If he had known, he most certainly would have reminded us of his words: "For this you should know: All such suggestions and disputes about predestination are surely of the devil."

Perhaps the great Reformer John Calvin, if he had been able to see all the contentions that would arise in reaction to his position on predestination, might have stopped where Luther stopped and allowed a mystery to be just that - a mystery!