Election of Grace III

1880 Western District Essay

Election of Grace III

Doctrinal Proceedings.

Since several theses in our last two Synod Reports, especially in the one from the previous year (1879), had met with opposition within the Synodical Conference, the District felt compelled to refrain from the topic still at hand this year as well, and to once again discuss the doctrine of election by grace, namely with regard to the objections raised. Although only four morning sessions could be devoted to these discussions due to the amount of business at hand, the District not only unanimously recognized the nullity of the objections raised during this time with thanksgiving to God, but also strengthened and founded itself on God's Word and the confession of the truth once recognized. This time, too, the discussions were conducted on the basis of theses presented by the speaker, Dr. Walther, which unfortunately could not be fully discussed due to a lack of time. These are as follows:

Theses concerning the doctrine of election by grace.

Thesis I.

The doctrine that election by grace is the cause of the salvation of the elect and all that belongs to it (a), and that the mercy of God and the most holy merit of Christ alone, and nothing that God foreknew in man, is the cause of election by grace (b), is not the Calvinist (c), but the pure Lutheran doctrine, which our Evangelical Lutheran Church publicly confessed as its own 300 years ago and laid down for all time in the Formula of Concord on the basis of Holy Scripture; therefore those who reject this doctrine cannot be regarded as Lutherans faithful to this point.

a. Formula of Concord, page 554. § 5. 705 f. § 8. [FC Ep XI 5; FC SD XI 8]

b. C.-F. 557. § 20. 723. § 87. 88. 713 f. § 43. [FC Ep XI 20; FC SD XI 42, 87-88]

c. C.-F. 557. § 21. [FC Ep XI 21]

Thesis II.

Nor is this the doctrine of an election of grace in a broader, but in its proper sense.

C.-F. 706. § 9. 708. § 24. Cf. 707. § 15-23. [FC SD XI 9, 24; cf. pars. 15-23]

Thesis III.

Those who wish to remove the offense which reason takes at this doctrine can do so only by either making what God has seen in man the cause of his election, as the Synergists do, and thus falsifying the Lutheran doctrine of free will and conversion (a), or by making God the cause of reprobation, as Calvin does, and thus overturning the Lutheran doctrine of God's holiness and common grace (b).

a. C.-F. 588 f. § 3. 5. 594. § 23. 25. 598. § 40-42. 609. § 87. 606 f. § 75-78. [FC SD II 3, 5, 23, 25, 40-42, 75-78, 87]

b. C.-F. 557. § 17-19. [FC Ep XI 17-19]

Thesis IV.

This doctrine of election of grace does not obscure or weaken the doctrine of justification and salvation by faith alone, but rather brightens and confirms it.

C.-F. 713 f. § 43. [FC SD XI 43]

Thesis V.

Only misunderstanding and abuse of this doctrine leads to despair and certainty (a), but with right understanding and use it is just as comforting against despair (b) as it is awakening against certainty (c).

a. C.-F. 724. § 91. 92. 706. § 9-11. [FC SD XI 9-11 91-92]

b. C.-F. 713 f. § 43-50. 723. § 89. 90. 711. § 33. [FC SD XI 33, 43-50, 89-90]

c. C.-F. 715 ff. § 51-72. [FC SD XI 51-72]

Thesis VI.

The certainty of election which a Christian should and can have (a) is a certainty of faith based on the universality of the promises of grace, on the calling through the Word, on the holy sacraments, and on private absolution (b).

a. C.-F. 709. § 25. 719 f. § 73. 74. 724. § 90. 714. § 45-47. [FC SD XI 25, 45-47, 73-74, 90]

b. C.-F. 709 et seq. § 26-38. [FC SD XI 26-38]

It has been remarked that there are three classes of opponents of the right doctrine of election of grace. The first class consists of those who say that the doctrine of election by grace has nothing to do with us Lutherans; rather, it is exclusively a doctrine of the Reformed. And unfortunately it is the case that the vast majority of those who have come to America from Germany, and certainly many who have long since become naturalized here, have never

heard of election by grace. They think that one must be most fearful of this doctrine, for many thousands have already fallen into great distress of soul, yes, into despair or into dreadful security through it; it is therefore best not to speak of it at all. But this is a great error.

There is a doctrine of election by grace, or predestination, which is clearly taught in Holy Scripture; it not only hints at it here and there, but treats of it, as the scholars say, ex professo, that is, with the intention of thoroughly expounding it. The second half of the 8th chapter of Paul's letter to the Romans, as well as chapters 9-11, deal with nothing more than the election of grace; similarly, Ephesians 1 discusses it in all its aspects. How often, moreover, does the Savior speak of the elect! He concludes two of His parables with the words: "For many are called, but few are chosen." And when he speaks of the last times, of the dangers and temptations, of the terrible tribulations to which Christians would be exposed in them, of the false prophets who would perform great signs and wonders in them in order, where possible, to deceive even the elect, he again reveals to us that these days will be shortened for the sake of the elect. If there were no longer any elect at that time, God would allow these terrible temptations, trials and tribulations to continue until the last day, for then no one would be saved. But the elect shall be saved: therefore God has the days shortened, lest they also be deceived. For of course, if God did not protect his elect, then according to Scripture they too would be deceived. But this is part of the election of grace, that God has decided to bring me to faith and to keep me in it to the end.

Furthermore, how often does the Savior speak of the election of grace to his disciples! He says: "You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you"; and again: "If you were of the world, the world would love you; but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." And when he describes the Last Day, he also describes how the angels will gather the elect from the four winds of the earth before his judgment seat.

How often, therefore, do the holy apostles speak of election by grace! how often do they comfort the Christians who were then in great distress with this very teaching! You know that you have been chosen from the beginning of the world, says the apostle. It is therefore quite foolish to reproach us for ever having spoken of election by grace

For the salvation of our souls, we preachers are obliged to proclaim the whole counsel of God concerning salvation in Christ; now this doctrine is clearly stated in Holy Scripture; therefore we would be unfaithful men, traitors to souls, if we did not also want to expound this comforting and blessed doctrine to the children of God. Therefore, do not be offended by the fact that things have been so peaceful in our synod up to now, and now a dispute has arisen over this doctrine! But what kind of peace would that have been if we had not discussed it. But what kind of peace would that have been if we had not spoken of a saving doctrine? That would be a churchyard peace, and not the peace that Christ came into the world to bring. He has indeed told us that he brings us the peace which the world cannot give: but he also says: "I have not come to send peace on earth, but a sword," namely, strife and contention, hatred and persecution.

Therefore let us not be grieved that strife has come! The disunity that has arisen is a blessed disunity, for it is nothing other than the fulfillment of Christ's prophecy of what will happen when the truth is truly proclaimed.

The second class of opponents consists of those who say: "We admit that the election of grace is taught in the Bible, and therefore we cannot reproach our pastors for having once addressed this doctrine; but we should not have made it so important. Indeed, we are even accused that the Missouri Synod now places this doctrine above all other teachings of Scripture. In the past, the doctrine of justification had always been promoted as the main doctrine, but now it takes a back seat.

But do not be misled by such talk! In the first place, the doctrine of justification is confirmed and placed in the right light precisely by the correct presentation of the doctrine of election by grace, as we shall see; and secondly, what can we do about the fact that we had to deal with election by grace for the second time? We would gladly have been satisfied once! But no sooner had we raised our voice than we found opposition, and that in our own midst. That is why we had to discuss the matter in more detail a year ago. But the opposition grew louder and louder, and so, driven by necessity, we had to decide to deal with this doctrine again this year. But we did not do so because we believed it to be the main doctrine of our church; oh no! we believe with all our hearts that the main doctrine is the doctrine of the order of grace. We have also proved this; no one can deny it to us. We have always had the doctrine of

election by grace, as we have it now; it is an abominable falsehood to say that it is a new doctrine that has now arisen. We have only not practiced it as often as we do now, so that we would not make our dear Christians one-sided, and because the main thing for us has always been the doctrine of justification. And so, with God's help, it shall remain among us in the future; justification will be the sun that shines before us on our path; it will remain the golden thread that runs through all our sermons. But when opponents attack a doctrine, then of course we must defend ourselves, then we must stand up for God's Word and God's honor. Then it always looks as if the doctrine under attack is the main thing, but there is no other way.

If people are locked in a castle that is under siege and the enemy breaks through the wall at one point, would that be a good general saying: I have to defend the whole castle, so I must not put more soldiers at the gap than at the rest of the wall? Certainly not! On the contrary, he will throw all his might into the place where the opening has been made, for that is where the danger threatens. So it is now within our synod. Until now we have had peace and quiet, no one has attacked our doctrine. Then suddenly the enemy wants to make a breach in the wall of our confession by attacking our doctrine of election by grace. That's why we are now confronting this gap with all our might, because we know that if the devil breaks into the church to rob it of one doctrine, he will destroy the whole castle. In any case, the doctrines of our faith are so closely interrelated that it is impossible for anyone to attack one doctrine without also attacking the others.

Finally, the third class of opponents consists of those who admit that Scripture has a doctrine of the election of grace, and that it is also very important to teach it; but who say that the way we present it is not Lutheran, but Calvinistic. Indeed, they accuse us of being crypto-Calvinists, that is, secret Calvinists who know full well that they are not Lutheran, but who, under the appearance of Lutheranism, secretly smuggle in Calvinist doctrine in order to deceive people.

Well then, we must defend ourselves against these attacks. It is precisely our District that needs to take over this defense, for we have — we will gladly admit — kindled the fire. Let us at least make sure that this fire does not consume our house, but that it becomes a fire of which the Lord says that it is already burning.

Thesis I.

The doctrine that election by grace is a cause of the salvation of the elect and all that pertains to it (a), and that the mercy of God and the most holy merit of Christ alone, and nothing that God foreknew in man, is the cause of election by grace (b), is not the Calvinist (c), but the pure Lutheran doctrine, which our Evangelical Lutheran Church publicly confessed as its own 300 years ago and laid down for all time in the Formula of Concord on the basis of Holy Scripture; therefore those who reject this doctrine cannot be regarded as Lutherans faithful to the confession in this respect. (FC Ep XI 5; FC SD XI 8; FC Ep XI 20; FC SD XI 42, 87-88; FC Ep XI 21)

a. Formula of Concord, page 554. § 5. 705 f. § 8.

b. C.-F. 557. § 20. 723. § 87. 88. 713 f. § 43.

c. C.-F. 557. § 21.

We go about our work not merely for the purpose of refuting opponents, but above all for the sake of our own salvation; for this is the reason why the doctrine of election of grace is given to us. For every true Christian rejoices inexpressibly that he knows he has a gracious God and already possesses salvation. But now he would also like to know: Will I also attain salvation one day? Will I also retain the grace of God? Will I not fall away again? For he knows that many have started out well, but have turned back, lost grace again and finally gone to hell. So what good is it for a Christian if he knows nothing more than this? Now you are in grace, but in one year you may have lost everything again, and once you die, you must sink into eternal death, and then your present state of grace will only increase your damnation? No, a true Christian desires to know with all his heart: Can I be sure that I will really be saved one day? If he could not, he would be like a prisoner sitting in a dungeon waiting to be led to prison, still hoping for pardon, but always hovering between fear and hope. No matter how delicious the food and drink served to such a condemned person, no matter how many comforts are prepared for him — if he does not know that he has been pardoned forever, he will always lie there in fear and terror. As often as the dungeon door opens, he must think: Now I will probably be led to the place of execution. But this is not how the faithful Savior has provided for his Christians. Rather, he says: "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one

will snatch them out of my hand." And Paul cries out triumphantly: "Who will separate us from the love of God?" by which he obviously means: nothing, in heaven, on earth or in hell. Every Christian should and can attain this certainty. This is not to say that he who does not have this certainty is not a Christian; but only that he still lacks an important means to a truly joyful Christianity.

The first thesis now immediately rests against those who accuse us of being Calvinists.

But what is Calvin's teaching? He taught the following: God had decided to reveal his glory, and for this purpose he had created the world, which is correct. But Calvin went on to teach that in order to reveal his love, God had from eternity chosen certain people for salvation, and that they should and must be saved at all costs, under all circumstances. He wants to bring them to faith through an irresistible grace, so that no matter how much they resist, He will still force them to believe, and will also keep them in the faith by giving them an unlosable grace. Furthermore, God has decided to let all people fall into sin; He has not only allowed this, but has decided it. For if he was to reveal his love to the elect, he first had to plunge them into a truly miserable, horrible state in order to save these shameful creatures. At the same time, however, God also wanted to reveal his righteousness and holiness; and for this purpose He compelled people to sin. He therefore sent the devil into paradise to deceive them and withdrew his grace from them so that they would surely fall. At the same time, he also decided to create the vast majority of people so that they would be damned and come to eternal torment. He did not want to redeem them, nor did he want to give them faith. Of course, God must have the gospel preached throughout the whole world, otherwise his elect would not hear it: but those who are not elect are not meant by the gospel; God does not call them seriously, he does not offer them his grace; for he has once decided that they should and must be damned. This is the shameful teaching of Calvin; we teach the exact opposite of all this.

We teach according to Holy Scripture that God wills that all men be helped, that He has loved the whole world from eternity and has given it His Son Jesus Christ as Savior. We teach with all our heart that Christ has redeemed all men, indeed, that there is not a man in the whole world whose sin Christ has not borne and atoned for. We teach that God earnestly calls every man to whom the gospel is preached, and that God will certainly save him if he does not willfully and obstinately resist; that

God intends to bring every man to faith and to keep him in it. There is no man who could say: Yes, perhaps I am not chosen; therefore what does it help me that I hear the sermon? Whoever speaks in this way is speaking the devil's words, for the power to believe lies in the Word. Therefore to whomsoever the Word is preached, God also extends his grace and eternal life. If therefore you perish, do not accuse God, but cry out against yourself. So no one who is concerned about his salvation needs to say: Yes, but perhaps I am not chosen after all. This very one should speak: This is a proof that God wants me to believe that I am chosen, because he has given me his gospel and I would like to believe. For this desire to believe is already an effect of the Holy Spirit. So I should not speak: Yes, I should, I may, perhaps I can't believe at all? No, you should, you may, you can believe; for the grace and the Spirit that work faith are in the word, and you have that. This is our doctrine; and this doctrine Calvin curses and condemns as a hideous, false doctrine, which strives against God's honor.

How shameful is it, therefore, when we are accused of Calvinism? But we must also become accustomed to being called false teachers. It was no different for the apostles. No sooner had Paul preached the gospel to the Galatians than the false prophets came and called him a false teacher, and the churches fell away from him again. Only with many tears was he able to restore a number of them. If we want to be true, apostolic Christians, we must be treated in the same way, we must also be denounced as false teachers. That is a seal on our faith, and it would be sad for us if it were otherwise.

But why are we accused of Calvinism? Mainly for two reasons: First, because we teach that the election of grace is a cause of our salvation. Election by grace is considered to be nothing other than the order of grace, and we say that if a person submits to the order of grace, then God says behind it: you have done what you ought to do, therefore you shall be saved. Of course, the election of grace is not the cause of our salvation, but only the seal that a person has accepted salvation; he has it and should now have it. The second reason is: because we teach that the cause of election to grace is only twofold, namely, the mercy of God and the most holy merit of Christ. But is there a third reason? Let every Christian ask himself whether he has done anything to come to faith and remain in it, or whether it is not God's mercy alone, God's work alone? Will he not say: I have often prayed, fought, wept on my knees

before God because of my sin, have often lain in the dust before him like a poor worm; but I must say this: if I have done this, it has always been the good God who has driven me to it! I would have fallen away again long ago and jumped into the abyss of sin if the good Lord had not kept me. Yes, we need not speak: I had long deserved that God should have asked nothing more of me; he has washed me clean from the dunghill of sin by the blood of Christ, and behold! I allowed myself to be tempted by sin again, returned to the world and allowed myself to be blinded by the devil; but the good Lord knocked on my door again, sent me faithful counselors, dear Christians, gave me good books and reminded me of my former blessed state, and then I felt something that I could not explain, a secret knocking in my heart, and then I became so fearful, whereas before I walked along so safely and carefree. Where did this mysterious force come from that pulled me out of the mud of sin? It was solely the mercy of my God in Christ Jesus.

This is the point on which everything depends, and even simple-minded Christians who are not theologians recognize this. Let us say that God has done everything for us and that there is nothing but sin and shame on our side if we confess the doctrine of election by grace. Truly, if we lacked this confession, our church would lack the main thing. If that confession were Calvinism, then the main thing would be with the Calvinists.

This is a doctrine of the devil that Calvin gives to the good Lord by teaching that he has, as it were, reached into a pot, and now he has thrown those who are to be saved into one box, and those who are to be damned into the other box. But with this we give all true honor to the dear God, that we teach that God really wants to save all men without exception, and saves those who believe in Christ Jesus, and that it is he alone who produces this faith in the elect or, if the light of faith is extinguished, rekindles it.

The Formula of Concord teaches in clear words that the election of grace is the cause of our salvation. It is as if, three hundred years after the publication of the Book of Concord, the good Lord wanted to prove through us what a great blessing it is that our Lutheran Church has the Book of Concord. For since we have been attacked for being Calvinists, we must of course prove that we are Lutherans. How do we prove this? If we go to the Bible, we are told: Yes, you are distorting the book; we can therefore do nothing else but go to the Book of Concord. For there the Lutheran church has laid down what its faith is. Miraculously,

however, the authors of the Formula of Concord, the 11th article of which deals with the election of grace, wrote it mainly for the sake of descendants, as they themselves say in the introduction.

In the Epitome, the first part of the Formula of Concord, it says (Müller p. 554. § 4., St. Louis edition p. 379): "But the predestination or eternal election of God is only for the pious, well-pleasing children of God, which is a cause of their salvation, which he also creates, and what belongs to it, decrees, on which our salvation is so firmly founded that they cannot overcome the gates of hell."

Here it is clearly stated that the election of grace is not merely the order of salvation, but a cause of our salvation; indeed, that it also creates everything that belongs to it, and decrees all this. Here, of course, we are not talking about salvation insofar as it is acquired, but insofar as I am to receive it; for redemption comes first, through which salvation is acquired for us. Christ has acquired righteousness and eternal life for all people through his suffering and death. But if I know that salvation has been acquired for me, the second question for me is whether I will receive it. After all, many things are acquired, indeed, offered and given to men by God, and yet they do not receive them. Then the Holy Scriptures answer me: You will have salvation too. For there is not only a plan of salvation and sanctification, but also a plan of election. Election is the cause of your attaining salvation, for it also causes everything by which you are led to salvation. This is stated even more clearly in the Solid Declaration, the second part of the Formula of Concord. There it says (M. p. 705. f. § 8.; St. L. edition p. 478. f.): "But the eternal election of God not only sees and knows beforehand the salvation of the elect, but is also a cause of the gracious will and good pleasure of God in Christ Jesus, so that our salvation, and that which belongs to it, creates, works, helps, and promotes; on which also our salvation is founded, so that the gates of hell shall not prevail against it; as it is written, 'My sheep shall no man pluck out of my hand'; and again: 'And as many as were ordained to eternal life believed'."

Hereby the Formula of Concord testifies to us: Since Christ has redeemed us, we certainly know that there is a way in which God wants to save all people; for we are taught: "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved." But the further question is: Will I really receive the end of faith according to the Scriptures? God has made provision for this too; for he has chosen us, that is, he has made a decree that he wants to bring us safely to heaven,

but certainly by no other way than that by which he wants to bring all men to salvation. He did not make a distinction and say: These shall go to heaven and not the others; but he said: I want all men to go to heaven; therefore I will send my Son to die for all, I will call all without exception through the gospel and will knock on all hearts with my Holy Spirit through the gospel. But God knows in advance that all this will be in vain for many, and because of their willful and stubborn resistance, which he foresaw, he has decided to condemn them. However, he does not say to the elect: I know you will be and remain good people, and therefore I decide to save you. For, first of all, it is wrong that we should be and remain good; but even if one says: God foreknew who would believe, and therefore God chose him, this is also wrong, for this is not election by grace, but the order of grace. No, God has chosen the elect to bring them to faith, and if they fall away, to lead them back to repentance and keep them in faith to the end; their salvation is therefore so certain that the gates of hell shall not prevail against them. If one asks for proof of this, we answer: Christ speaks plainly of his sheep; no one shall snatch them out of his hand.

This is, of course, an incomprehensible doctrine; for our reason says: If those are condemned because they were unbelievers, why are these saved, since all men are unbelievers by nature? We should not inquire into this mystery, but should keep to the word of the prophet, through whom God says: "O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help." [Hosea 13:9] Whoever walks within the bounds of this passage will be preserved from Pelagianism on the one hand and from Calvinism on the other, and will always have the Lutheran doctrine of the election of grace. By this one can also recognize whether a preacher rightly teaches the doctrine that he makes the good Lord the cause of our salvation, but not the author of our damnation.

In the passage quoted by the Formula of Concord, Acts 13:48, it is so clear that the election of grace is a cause of our salvation, and all that belongs to it, that it is almost incomprehensible how one cannot see that faith is here described as a consequence of election. Conversely, two verses earlier [Acts 13:46], the reason why the others do not come to faith is also clearly stated, for there Paul and Barnabas say to the hardened Jews: "The Word of God had to be spoken to you first; but now that you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles."

We are accused of teaching that if the elect receive faith in time as a result of election, then God did not want to give faith to the rest. But we do not draw this conclusion, but follow the Scriptures, which say that unbelievers do not come to faith as a result of their persistent resistance, not because God did not want to give them faith. Paul says that the unbelieving Jews did not consider themselves worthy of eternal life; therefore eternal life was seriously offered to them. The Holy Spirit also earnestly offered the power to believe through the word which Paul preached to those who did not come to faith, for this power lies in the word which was brought to them.

So we must not be accused of thinking that we believe: God would like the unbelievers to come to faith, but he is not particularly concerned about their salvation, he lets them go their own way; he may make a feeble attempt to bring them to faith, but he soon gives it up again. No, we do not teach mere complacency, as do Reformed who ascribe to God only a weak, impotent will with regard to the damned. We believe that God earnestly desires to save even those who are not chosen, so earnestly that he also sacrificed his Son on the cross for them, and that Christ weeps bitter tears over Jerusalem because it will not allow itself to be saved. But we are merely not solving the mystery that God has given us, which consists in the fact that while some come to faith as a result of election, others do not come to faith, not as a result of God not seriously wanting to save them, but as a result of their willful and stubborn resistance.

And now a Christian—who has been chosen by grace—should rejoice and be comforted from the heart, and be pleased and satisfied with the fact that God, according to his unfathomable mercy, has undertaken to lead him safely and surely to heaven. Therefore we can also take comfort in the fact that our present doctrinal controversy has broken out; for just as a tree is rooted ever more firmly into the earth by the storm, so also we shall, by God's grace, be ever more firmly founded on this saving doctrine in the present struggle and recognize it in ever brighter light.

We now proceed to point b. of our thesis, namely, that the mercy of God and the most holy merit of Christ alone, and nothing that God has foreseen in man, is the cause of the election of grace. And this is precisely the main reason which is attacked in our doctrine. The opponents admit that God did not choose for the sake of good works, which he foreknew from eternity;

but they say that he did so in view of faith. They think this is also consistent with our confession. But let us compare what it says.

There we read in the Formula of Concord (M. p. 557. H 20; St. L. edition p. 380 f.): "Accordingly we reject the following errors... 4. item, that not only the mercy of God and the most holy merit of Christ, but also in us is a cause of God's election, for the sake of which God has chosen us to eternal life."

Only two reasons for election are given here, namely the mercy of God and the merit of Christ, and then it is rejected if a cause of election is thought to be found in man. The same is repeated in the Solid Declaration. There it says (M. p. 723. § 87 and 88; St. L. edition p. 489): "By this doctrine and declaration of the eternal and beatific election of the elect children of God, God is given his glory wholly and completely, that by pure mercy in Christ, without all unremoved merit or good works, he saves us, according to the purpose of his will, as it is written, Eph. 1:5: 'He has made us sons of Himself through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of His glory and grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved’. Therefore it is wrong and unjust to teach that not only the mercy of God and the most holy merit of Christ alone, but also in us a cause of God's election, for the sake of which God has chosen us to eternal life. For not only before we did anything good, but also before we were born, he chose us in Christ, yes, before the foundation of the world was laid, and 'that the purpose of God might be according to election, it was said to him, not by merit of works, but by grace of the caller, thus: the greater shall serve the lesser; as it is written: 'I loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated', Rom. 9:11, Gen. 25:23, Mal. 1:2 f."

Note the words in the Latin: "aliquid in nobis", according to which it is therefore false when it is taught that "something" in us is a cause of election; it does not mean here: a good work, a worthiness in us, but something in us. And first it says: only the mercy of God and the merit of Christ; thus faith is evidently excluded, for it is something in us, aliquid in nobis. If the confessors three hundred years ago had had the doctrine which is now held up to us by opponents as the only correct Lutheran doctrine, they would probably have been wise enough to have said: the mercy of God, the merit of Christ and faith; but the latter is not mentioned, indeed it is added: "something in us". It may therefore be something which we ourselves have by

nature, or which we have procured by our natural powers, or which God has wrought in us by his Spirit of grace; all this is excluded.

This, by the way, is already implied in what we discussed under point a., namely, that the election of grace is the ground and cause of our salvation and all that belongs to it. How could this be the case if faith were the cause for the sake of which we are chosen? No, faith must certainly be the cause of election; it does not occur to us to say that a man can be saved without faith, or that God did not also have faith in mind when he elected us. Of course he did think of faith, but he thought of it as the means by which man is to be saved, and as that which is to be given and preserved to man precisely on the basis of election.

Just think: when the Savior said to his disciples, "You did not choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you to go and bear fruit, and your fruit will remain," he meant to say: Of course, you did what was good in the first place, in that you sought me out and followed me, and because you are now in the right faith, I will choose you? Certainly not; but everyone can see that the Lord's meaning with these words is rather this: You would have been among the scribes and Pharisees and let them lead you to hell; but I came before you and sought you out, gave you faith and will keep you in it to the end and save you eternally; you have me to thank for all this, not yourselves. Only those who go to the Scriptures with a preconceived idea will interpret these words as if the Savior wanted to say: Now praise God! you have accepted me in faith, now I will also choose you. No, the Lord wants to take away all boasting from the disciples and wants to say to them: "You are not a hair's breadth better than the Jewish people who rejected me in unbelief; but I saw you lying in your blood, and there I said to you: You shall live. This does not merely mean: You shall go to heaven, for then they would ask: Yes, how shall we get in? but it means: I will give you and keep you the faith by which alone and surely you will go to heaven.

This is the clear teaching of our Church, which she has laid down in the passages we have just heard. The election of grace is a cause of our salvation and everything that belongs to it. Well, what belongs to it? Above all, faith and perseverance in faith. The passage quoted says: "For not only before we have done something good" and so on. Here we are told that we must attribute everything to the grace of God and the merit of Christ, as we can see from the fact

that the election of grace is an eternal one. But if it is eternal, it follows that works cannot be the cause, for at the time when God chose, no man had yet done good works. The Formula of Concord has the following argument: God chose the believers before they had done anything good; the works were therefore not yet there when God chose. He did not allow Himself to be determined by anything in man when He chose him, for there was nothing in him yet, he had not even been born. Now if God did not allow Himself to be determined by anything that He saw in man, because it was not yet present, then He did not allow Himself to be determined by faith either; for this too was not yet in man, because he had not yet been born.

Now if that conclusion of the Formula of Concord is correct, then this conclusion is obviously also correct: therefore faith cannot be the cause of election either, because it was not yet present when the election took place. Yes, if this followed in time, then it would be correct to say that God waits until a person converts and then chooses him. But since man was not yet a man, and the decision of election was already made before he was born, it necessarily follows that we are not only elected to salvation, but also to the way in which God wants to lead us to salvation.

We see this also from the following passage of the Solid Declaration (M. p. 708. § 23. St. L. edition p. 480), where it is expressly said: "God has considered all and every person of the elect, who are to be saved through Christ, in grace, elected to salvation, and also decreed that he would bring, help, promote, strengthen and preserve them in the way now reported, by his grace, gifts and effects."

Thus, according to our confession, election by grace is a decree of God to lead a person to salvation by the ordinance of grace. This is the election of grace of the Formula of Concord. Thus repentance, conversion, faith, justification, sanctification, patience in the cross, perseverance to the end is a realization of election, and not the other way around. [i.e. “faith is the cause of election”.]

Whoever says, as the openly rationalistic peddlers do: I believe, I am an elect person; for so and so I have done; I have been converted to Christ, I do all kinds of good works, and therefore God has elected me: he takes away the glory of God and gives it to himself, thus making himself God. But that is worse than the Darwinists now saying that man evolved from an ape. For these people still admit that man did not create himself, but that in their opinion he crawled out of an ape, and that he then behaved in such and such a way until he became the beautiful creature that he is. But these say:

We are the cause of our salvation; that is much worse than if I said: I am the cause that I was created. For there I speak only of temporal life; but he who makes his works the cause of election speaks of eternal life. But a man does not even say that he created himself; if anyone wanted to say that, people would quickly put him in a madhouse, for he would obviously be insane. How much more horrible it is to say: I may not have created myself physically, but I have procured eternal life for myself!

But even faith cannot be the cause of election, as others say. Scripture says in many places that God gives faith. So how can God give me eternal life for the sake of faith? — For election is an election to eternal life. — On the contrary, the reason that God gives me faith must be that he wants to save me eternally. If I give someone a gift and he has become rich through my liberality, I will not first love him for the sake of his riches and say: He is now much dearer to me than before, because he has become a rich man. No, my goodness is the reason that he has become rich, so his wealth cannot be the reason that I love him. I do not give something to someone because he accepts it; but conversely, he has accepted it because I have given it to him. Bliss is given to me through faith. Now my acceptance, i.e. my faith, cannot be the reason why God gives me salvation; for I could not accept it at all if it had not been given to me beforehand.

However, we distinguish between the love that God has for us before and after our conversion; but this is what we want to say here: the fact that we have converted to Christ is not the cause that God has chosen us, just as little is it the cause that a person loves his neighbor because he has become rich through his goodness. There is a twofold love of God: first, love for the whole world, according to which he wants all men to be saved. But when God has brought a person to faith, then pleasing love arises. God is not pleased with the world as it is; on the contrary, God's wrath is kindled against the wickedness of the world; but again he has in his heart the love of mercy. When a man has become a believer, God sees him as clothed with the robe of Christ's righteousness, and then he pleases him. Then God not only has compassion on his misery, but in a sense takes pleasure in him. God now looks upon him with the greatest pleasure: everything he does, even when he eats, drinks and sleeps, is pleasing to God, for he sees him in Christ Jesus, with whose righteousness he is clothed. So it is God who, through his counsel of grace, causes me to become a

creature pleasing to him. Before, I was only an object of pity to him; but after I came to faith, pity turned into fatherly love. God could not yet love people as a father, because they were not yet his children; so that he now loves us as a father, he has drawn us to his Son JEsu Christ.

We must therefore note this according to § 23: God has decreed that he will bring his elect to salvation, or, as it is called in Latin, to make them partakers of salvation, participemredderesalutis. Now this includes faith, perseverance in faith; all this is called a consequence of election, so it must be the cause of all this.

It is also very important that nowhere in the Bible does it say that we are chosen for the sake of faith. There are indeed the words: "Those whom he foreknew, he also ordained" (Romans 8:29); but when people say, "What is it that he foreknew? surely it must be faith," we say to them: Dear people, if you were the Holy Spirit, we would believe you; but we do not let men put anything into the Bible. It says nothing more than: The good God provided beforehand, and not: The good God provided faith beforehand. Now no man, indeed no angel or archangel, has anything to add to these words. It sometimes happens that Scripture does not say in one place what it says in another; but there is no passage in which it is said that God foreknew faith or chose us for the sake of faith.

Chemnitz also testifies to this in his handbook. He writes: "Does this election of God first take place in the time when men repent and believe? or is it done in consideration of their piety seen beforehand? St. Paul says in Eph. 1: "We were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world"; and in 2 Tim. 1: "He saved us and called us, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. So also the election of God is not according to our faith and righteousness, but is for a cause of all things; for whom he has ordained or chosen, them he has also called and justified. Rom. 8."

Here Chemnitz says quite clearly: Election precedes faith, and faith follows election; therefore God cannot have elected for the sake of faith.

Incidentally, all theologians without exception, to whom we are referred, reject the idea that God chose for the sake of faith. For of course we cannot hide the fact that

inthe seventeenth century the doctrine became established in the Lutheran Church that God did not choose for the sake of faith, but nevertheless in view of faith. [See this blog post.] Those who taught this thought that they could only in this way refute the Calvinists. But if you ask them, "You yourselves admit that God did not elect on account of faith, what do you mean by this expression 'on account of faith'?" they say all sorts of things, but it is not clear to you what they mean. For these men [orthodox Lutheran theologians] teach quite decidedly that God must give faith to man if he is to attain it, and that God gives it according to his good pleasure.

Now since faith is evidently a consequence of election, we have declared that we will go back to the way our Lutheran Confession speaks, and will not accept the expression "in view [Ansehung] of faith we are elect"; for that is neither in Scripture nor in the Confession. We do not want to make heretics of those noble men who thought they had to speak in this way for the sake of the Calvinists; but neither do we want to refute the false teachers by a doctrine which we ourselves do not approve of. We should not, as Job says, defend God with cunning; therefore we speak as the Scriptures speak.

Chemnitz continues: "And Eph. 1. Paul does not say that we are chosen because we were holy or will be holy, but says: we are chosen that we may become holy; for the election of grace is the cause of all that pertains to salvation; as Paul says: 'We have come to inheritance, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who works all things, according to the counsel of his will, that we might be something to the praise of his glory; and according to the effect we believe,' etc. And this election was not made out of consideration of our present or future works, but according to the purpose and grace of God, Rom. 9. 2 Tim. 1... From this it is certain that no elect person will finally remain and persevere in impenitence and unbelief." (Cited in Frank, Theologie der Concordienformel. IV, 336. 338.)

It is very important that it is finally said that no elect person finally remains and perseveres in impenitence and unbelief. To him, then, who is in impenitence and unbelief, we can confidently say: Do not trouble yourself with the election of grace! You cannot take comfort in it as long as you remain in impenitence.

This whole passage clearly shows that Chemnitz teaches: God has chosen us to faith, therefore he cannot have chosen with regard to faith in the sense that he foreknew faith.

How clearly Scripture expresses this when it says, among other things, as has already been mentioned, that God has ordained us to adoption; furthermore: "And as many as believed

were ordained to eternal life" (yes, according to the basic text it says: had been ordained)! It does not say: and were ordained to eternal life, as many of them believed — that is what it would have to say if God had chosen us for the sake of faith — but conversely it says: and believed, as many of them were ordained to eternal life.

If we carry into these clear passages the doctrine that God has chosen us for the sake of faith, we obscure the whole of Scripture, make everything uncertain, and gradually lose sight of the truths of Holy Scripture. No, if they want to make us waver, then let us hold firmly and rigidly to these words, and let us do like Luther, who in his disputation with Zwingli at Marburg about Holy Communion wrote the words in chalk on the table: "This is my body." For this is irrefutable: since God has decreed to make the elect partakers of eternal salvation and to provide all that is necessary for this, the election of grace must also be a cause of our faith; for faith is a necessary condition for salvation. This is the main reason why we make faith not the cause but the consequence of election.

Sebastian Schmidt, who often says that God has elected us in view of faith, but who always speaks in such a way that one can see that it does not occur to him to make faith the cause of election, writes: "But this predestination of God is by pure grace, without any merit of works, whether it be said that they are by natural or supernatural powers, and without any regard to these works, or even to faith, as a condition which moves God to predestination on the ground of his own worthiness, whether it be real and natural or imputed." (Aphorismi theol. 1655. p. 294.)

He thus expressly says: The election of grace is done without all regard to works, yes, even without regard to faith, Latin: respectu. But what is the difference between "in view of" and "in consideration of"? But this much is clear: he does not want to make faith the cause of election, not even insofar as a worthiness is ascribed to it for the sake of Christ.

The same Schmidt writes: "There is no more cause of predestination in the predestined man than in the reprobate; it proceeds rather from the mere divine decree, which is founded on the general grace and merit of Christ, which by its nature excludes every cause on the part of man." (Aphorismi theol. 1655. p. 295.)

Therefore, if anyone asks: Why are certain persons damned? The answer is: Because of their own fault. But if it be

asked, Why are other persons saved? we must answer, The reason is not in them, but in God's mercy and Christ's merit alone. And it is a false conclusion to say: If the cause of damnation lies in man, then the cause of salvation must also lie in him.

It is the same here as with conversion. The synergists have always said: The reason why one person is not converted is his reluctance; therefore the reason why the other is converted must also be that he is not reluctant. No, say all our theologians, that is not the cause. The reason why the one is not converted lies in him; that is precisely his reluctance; but the reason why the other is converted does not lie in him, but in God alone.

Finally, Schmidt writes: "Faith does not grasp the benefit of predestination, as it grasps the benefit of justification, sanctification, etc., so that it makes predestination its own through faith, as it obtains its justification through faith; but the believer comforts and strengthens his faith from predestination, so that he says with the apostle: 'If God is for us, who can be against us? (Aphorismi theol. 1655. p. 295.)

Let us also listen again to several quotations which we have already quoted in our report of 1877, p. 84 ff., which likewise testify that nothing has moved the dear God to choose us that He has seen in us.

Thus Gerhard writes: "We confess with a loud voice that we hold that God found nothing good in the man to be elected to eternal life, that he took no account of good works, nor of the use of free will, nor even of faith, so that he chose some because he was moved by it, or for the sake of it." (Loc. de elect. et reprob. § 161.)

Furthermore, John Olearius writes: "The doctrine of the Lutherans... ascribes everything to God, nothing to man. This is not opposed to... 2. faith, for this is by no means our work, but God's gift, nor a condition to be fulfilled by us, but a requirement which is bestowed by God by grace through the ordinary means of salvation." (L. c. p. 1684.)

Quenstedt also writes: "The moving cause (of predestination) is partly internal, partly external. The internal is the grace of God, which is manifested in vain, which absolutely excludes any merit of human works, or anything that has the name of a work or an action, whether it is done by God's grace or by natural forces. For God has not chosen us according to works, but by his mere

grace. Nor does faith itself belong here, if it is regarded as a more or less worthy condition (whether in itself, or according to an estimate of value added to faith by the will of God), because nothing of this belongs to the counsel of election as a cause that moves and impels God to make such a counsel, but this must be attributed to the pure grace of God. This sentence is proved first of all from Romans 9:15-16: 'Whom I have mercy on, I have mercy on. So then it is not up to someone's will or behavior, but to God's mercy.’" (Th. did.-pol. III, 25.)

Calov writes: "It is not because of faith that we are called elect, but through faith in Christ, of which the former is the characteristic expression of the moving cause, the latter of the instrumental cause. Blessed Meisner reminds us: ‘If faith is called the cause of election, is it not to be understood as the moving or motivating cause?’ 'For', says Blessed Hutter, 'election does not depend on faith as its moving or meritorious cause.’ … And the blessed Gerard says that it is absurd to say that faith is the motive cause of election." (Syst. Tom. X, 629)

Finally, Dannhauer writes: "Predestination does not depend on any work, on any merit, on any motive which is from us or through us, which is in us, for the sake of which election would have happened; not on faith, in so far as it is a work or the fruit of faith. For thus we also say that the decree is a purely gracious one. This graciousness excludes the merits, not the order [of salvation]; faith here is not a work, but the foreknown beggar's hand. Therefore nothing of boast, even the least, is left to faith, in that it takes, not gives or acquires. Therefore God saw nothing of active worthiness in man, nothing good that was not from Him, God Himself. God remains the cause and never becomes the caused: in fact, in him "nothing is earlier in time; but neither does the will depend on foreknowledge, although it is earlier in concept." (Hodos. Phaen. 7. p. 289.)

Scripture says: "Death is the wages of sin; but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Rom. 6:23. It thus calls eternal life a gift of God; but if it is a gift, then we are not speaking of something that God saw in man and that moved him to make the decision to choose him to eternal life.

Luther writes: "It is a precious thing to have faith and great power; yes, if it were in our power or, if we had it

right away, to keep it! There is no doubt that faith does all that the devil and death must give way to it; but where is the art of keeping it? God has left it to himself to give and take away faith as he wills, and to make it strong or weak as he pleases." (Sermons on Genesis 1 from 1527. Erl. Vol. 34, p. 195, on the 32nd chapter).

Our Formula of Concord says the same thing, when it (M. p. 713. § 43. St. L. ed. p. 483 [cf. FC SD XI 43-44]) thus speaks: "And inasmuch as the mystery of predestination is revealed to us in the Word of God, and if we abide by it, it is a useful, salutary, and comforting doctrine; for it confirms the article very powerfully, that we are justified and saved without all our works and merits, purely by grace, for Christ's sake alone; For before the world was, before we were, even before the foundation of the world was laid, when we could do no good, we were chosen to salvation by grace in Christ according to the purpose of God, Rom. 9:11, 2 Tim. 1:9. All opinions and erroneous doctrines concerning the powers of our natural will are thereby laid to rest, because God in His counsel before the foundation of the world considered and ordained that He Himself would create and work in us all things that pertain to our conversion by the power of His Holy Spirit through the Word."

Here again it is said: Only the mercy of God and the merit of Christ is the cause of our election, and furthermore: This also belongs to the counsel of election by grace, that God has decreed that he himself wants to work in us everything that belongs to our conversion.

For it is said to us: Faith precedes justification; why should it not also precede the election of grace? no one is really righteous for his own person except one who has already believed! We answer: The latter is true, but where does it come from that I am justified by faith? It is because God has already justified all men without exception on his part. [Objective Justification!] When the heavenly Father raised his Son from the dead, he justified him, who is our substitute, and so in this our substitute he has at the same time justified all mankind. But this is not the case with the election of grace. The relationship of faith to election is different from that to justification. God did not elect all men to salvation and say, for example, "Now you may also take out the election of grace by faith. The election of grace is not a general one, like justification, but a particular one, or as the Latins say: a particular one; for the Savior says: "Many are called, but few are chosen." Therefore, man does not first have to make use of the election of grace through faith in order to become an elect person, for this has already happened from

eternity. He who is chosen is already chosen before the foundation of the world, and faith must now grasp not the election but the merit of Christ, so that he may attain the salvation that is already promised to him through the election of grace.

We also teach that no one can enter heaven except through faith; that faith is just as necessary for an elect person as it is for him to be saved. But this is what we say: To whom God has chosen from eternity, he has also decided to give faith, and what he decides, he actually carries out. God certainly wants to give faith to the whole world; he also offers it to it. So if someone does not believe, he must not say: God has not decided to give me faith, therefore I do not have it; but because God foresaw that he would remain a wicked person, he has decided: I will not force him into heaven. God says to such an unbelieving person: If thou wilt not, go thou to hell: but accuse me not, as though I would not have saved thee.

The doctrine we have had up to now is therefore not changed in the least by the election of grace. We must always show people the same way that we have shown them so far. The doctrine of the election of grace brings sweet consolation only to the godly, zealous Christian: If you believe in the Lord Jesus, you can and should be sure that he will take you into his arms and hold you tightly in them, and that nothing in heaven, on earth or in hell will tear you out of his arms. This is all the comfort that election of grace gives.

Let us now proceed to point c., namely, that those who reject the doctrine expressed in points a. and b. cannot be regarded as confessionally faithful Lutherans in this respect.

The Formula of Concord (M. p. 557. § 21. St. L. ed. p. 381 [FC Ep XI 20, 21]) bears witness to this. In the foregoing the three errors of the Calvinists are rejected, that God does not will that all men should repent and believe the gospel; that if God calls us to himself, he does not mean that all men should come to him; that God does not will that everyone should be saved, etc. Hereupon the error is rejected, "that not only the mercy of God and the most holy merit of Christ, but also in us is a cause of God's election, for the sake of which God has chosen us to eternal life", and now it says further in the

Formula of Concord: "Which are all blasphemous and frightful erroneous doctrines, whereby Christians are deprived of all comfort which they have in the holy Gospel and the use of the holy sacraments, and for this reason should not be tolerated in the Church of God."

With this § 21, then, our Church declares that all those are unfaithful to the form of right doctrine who add a third cause to the mercy of God and the merit of Christ, even if it were faith.

Therefore, as much as it matters to us that we adhere to the doctrine of our Lutheran Church, it also matters to us that we hold fast to it: there are only two causes of the election of grace: God's mercy and Christ's merit. Anyone who adds a third ceases to be a faithful Lutheran on this point. It is therefore no small thing, but something very important, to make faith the cause of election; for our church calls this a terrible and blasphemous doctrine.

Thesis II.

Nor is this the doctrine of election by grace in a wider, but in its proper sense.

C.-F. 706. § 9. 708. § 24. Cf. 707. § 15-23. [FC SD XI 9, 24; cf. pars. 15-23]

This thesis is added because it is said that in a certain sense it is admitted that faith is a fruit and consequence of election by grace, and therefore that election by grace is also a cause of faith; but, it is said, only when election by grace is understood to be something which can be so called only in a wider sense. And here it is maintained that the Formula of Concord does not speak of election of grace in the narrower sense, at least not alone, but of election of grace in a wider sense; and this is supposed to be proved from the passages quoted.

In the Solid Declaration it says (M. p. 706. § 9; St. L. Exg. p. 479): "Nor is this eternal election or decree of God unto eternal life to be considered merely in the secret unsearchable counsel of God, as if it had no more in it, or no more belonged to it, nor was more to be considered in it, than that God had beforehand seen which and how many should be saved, which and how many damned, or that he alone held such a pattern: this one shall be saved, that one shall be damned; this one shall abide, that one shall not abide."

It is claimed that here the Formula of Concord renounces an election of grace in the narrower sense, as if it were to be understood as nothing other than that God has ordained some to eternal salvation and condemned others to eternal damnation. — Furthermore, it is claimed that in the

Formula of Concord (M. p. 708. § 24. St. L. edition p. 480) thus reads: "All this is comprehended according to Scripture in the doctrine of God's eternal election to adoption and eternal salvation, is also

to be understood by it, and is never to be excluded nor omitted when one speaks of God's purpose, providence, election, and decree of salvation."

So they say: According to the Formula of Concord, the doctrine of election by grace also includes the doctrine of the general order of grace; if this is now added to it, then one could well say that election by grace is the cause of faith; for faith is of course caused by the preaching of the divine Word. Now if the calling through the Word also belongs to the doctrine of election by grace, then one could also say quite well: "Faith comes from election by grace”. But the way we talk about election by grace is wrong, because we are talking about election by grace in the narrower sense.

But this whole explanation is not correct. The Formula of Concord speaks of an election of grace in the narrower or proper sense of the word, and not of an election of grace which comprehends in itself the general order of salvation and grace. This can be seen from the following. [This is the talking point in the “Pastoral Conferences” of 1879 and 1880.]

In the Formula of Concord it says (M. p. 705. § 5; St. L. edition p. 478): "But the eternal election of God vel praedestinatio, that is, God's decree of salvation, is not especially for the pious and the wicked, but only for the children of God, who are chosen and ordained to eternal life before the foundation of the world was laid, as Paul says in Eph. 1:5: "He has chosen us in Christ Jesus and ordained us to adoption."

Here our Formula of Concord says that it speaks of such an election by grace, which only concerns the believing, pious children of God. Now the opponents will not claim that the general order of salvation and grace only concerns the pious; after all, it concerns the whole world. Therefore, when the Formula of Concord says that the election of grace of which it speaks concerns only the pious, it testifies that it speaks of an election of grace in the proper sense.

Then in the Epitome (M. p.554. § 5. St. L. edition p.379) it is said: "But the predestination or eternal election of God is only for the pious, well-pleasing children of God, which is a cause of their salvation, which he also creates, and what belongs to the same, decrees."

But the order of grace is given to all people. When it is said that election is for the children of God, it means that it concerns them, as it is called in Latin: pertinet.

That is one reason. The other reason why we firmly believe that the Formula of Concord speaks of the election of grace in the proper sense, is this: because, after the eight points (M. p. 707 and 708. St. L. ed. p. 480) has spoken of the order of grace, it is continued in the

Solid Declaration: "And in such His counsel, purpose, and decree, God has not only prepared salvation in general, but has also considered all and every person of the elect, who are to be saved through Christ, in grace, elected them to salvation, and also decreed that He would bring, help, promote, strengthen, and preserve them in the way now reported, by His grace, gifts, and effects."

In the Latin it is said that God has prepared the salvation of His own, from which it is clear that the foregoing speaks of the order of grace insofar as it concerns the elect. For if only the general order of grace were meant, in so far as it concerns all men, then the eight points should have indicated at the same time who is condemned. This is also part of the general order of grace, that we tell people that if they do not turn to Christ, they will perish; not only that faith saves, but also that unbelief condemns. But nothing is said about this in the eight points. In the first point it is said on what the election of grace is based, namely on the redemption of Jesus Christ. So it also says

Solid Declaration (M. p. 720. § 75. St. L. ed. p. 487) expressly states: "And because our election to eternal life is not founded on our piety or virtue, but solely on Christ's merit and the gracious will of his Father, who cannot deny himself, because he is immutable in his will and nature" etc.

The first point is therefore added simply so that we may know on what the election of grace is based. There is no doubt that the Formula of Concord wants to teach here: You Lutherans, if you want to preach the doctrine of election by grace in a truly biblical way, you must not begin with the fact that God has chosen a number of people, but with the fact that the whole world is redeemed by Christ; and only after it has been redeemed is an election by grace possible.

Then it continues: "2. that such merits and benefits of Christ are to be presented, offered and distributed to us through his Word and Sacrament."

Note the word "us", i.e. us Christians, not the world! For right at the beginning the Formula of Concord says that it speaks of the election of grace, which concerns the believing children of God; and now it says: there is also to be taught at the same time how God presents the good deeds of Christ to us through his Word.

Point 4 also speaks only of those who accept Christ in true faith.

Finally, everything is summed up again in point 8. First the election, then the calling is stated, so that the eight points always speak of the elect, but of the elect in general; for now it says: "And in such His

counsel, purpose, and decree, God has not only prepared salvation in general, but has also considered in grace all and every person of the elect who are to be saved through Christ, has elected them to salvation, and has also decreed that He will bring, help, promote, strengthen, and preserve them in the manner now reported, by His grace, gifts, and effects."

In Latin, this sentence begins with the words: et quidem, which literally means: and indeed God has in such a way his counsel, etc. This is to indicate: now comes the main thing. For if you now know that God has prepared salvation for the elect in general, the question arises: Has God also thought of certain persons and ordained them to salvation? Answer: Yes, that is why it is said: not only has He prepared the salvation of His own in general, but He has also chosen all and every person of the elect for salvation.

The Formula of Concord means: God has not merely decided that if people are such and such, then I will choose them, but he has already carried certain persons in his spirit and called them by name and said: I will choose them. When it says here that he has decreed to bring them to salvation in the way now reported, etc., it also indicates that the eight points describe the way in which God wants to save the elect.

Thus the counsel of grace concerning the salvation of men belongs to the counsel of election of grace only in so far as God has also prescribed the same way to salvation for the elect that all men are to follow; not that God has made a special order concerning the elect, as if he wanted to save them in a different way from all men.

There is therefore no doubt at all that the Formula of Concord speaks of election in its proper sense, and not in a broader sense. For although the eight points speak of the path to salvation that every person should take, it is presented here as the path by which God wants to lead the elect to heaven. But the main reason remains that which we have already heard in § 5. and which is clear even to the simple-minded, namely, that the election of grace alone is for the pious children of God. But this is the election of grace in a so-called narrower sense, and not an election of grace, which is basically nothing more than the doctrine of the way to salvation; for the latter is revealed for all men, and not only for the elect.

Then the opponents also defeat themselves; for if they speak, as they say, of a so-called election of grace in a narrower sense, and not of the election of grace in a wider sense, as the Formula of Concord is supposed to teach, they give a doctrine which the Formula of Concord

rejects. For the latter clearly and distinctly says not only that election of grace is not a mere pattern (militaris delectus), but, after summarizing "the whole doctrine of the purpose, counsel, will, and ordinance of God, concerning our redemption, calling, justification, and beatification," it continues: "All this is comprehended according to Scripture in the doctrine of the eternal election of God to sonship and eternal blessedness, is also to be understood under it, and is never to be excluded nor omitted when speaking of the purpose, providence, election, and ordinance of God to blessedness."

Those, therefore, who in the doctrine of eternal election do not comprehend all this, do not understand it, exclude it, or omit it, not only give a doctrine of election by grace different from our confession, but also one which rejects it as false. We therefore rightly say to our opponents: You teach a false election of grace according to the Formula of Concord; for there is no such election of grace. For God did not hold a mere election and say: I will create so and so many millions of people, and of these I will choose so and so many thousands, but the others I will reject. There is no such Calvinistic election of grace; rather, whom God has chosen, he has also chosen to walk the narrow way to eternal life. For first I must go the way, and only then do I reach the goal. Now if God has ordained me to the goal, then of course he must also ordain me to the path by which I will reach the goal. If someone says to me: I give you all the gold and silver that lies in the sea, you can take it out for yourself, I will say: I thank you for such a gift, for I cannot get it. But if someone says: I will give you all the treasures that are in the Mississippi, and I will see to it that they come out; I will hire divers and have apparatus made for this purpose, so that the treasures can be brought to light and you can also get them: then I will say: I will put up with it. But God is not the kind of giver who gives us something and then leaves us to see how we get it; no, when he gives us something, he also makes sure that we get it. We are saved to salvation by the power of God through faith; not because of faith, but through faith.

Incidentally, when we call our doctrine of election of grace a doctrine of election of grace in the narrower sense, we do not of course mean to say that we make a distinction between election of grace in the broader and narrower sense. No, we have only an election of grace in the strict sense; we make this distinction only for the sake of our opponents. We use here, as the scholars say, the so-called antanaclasis. For if someone uses a word wrongly,

then the same word is often used in disputation, but in the right sense. The Pharisees, for example, asked the Lord: What shall we do that we may work the works of God? With these words they were obviously speaking of the works of the law by which they wanted to be saved. What then does the Savior do? He says: "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent. So here the Lord takes the word "work" out of the mouth of the opponents and gives it a different, namely the right meaning. He calls faith the work of God, but in a different sense than the Pharisees. The opponents say. We have no objection to your saying that election by grace is a cause of faith; but then you must also understand election by grace in the wider sense, in so far as it includes in itself the order of grace for all men. How do they seek to prove this? They refer to the fact that many words in Holy Scripture are used in a broader and a narrower sense. The word "gospel", for example, has a twofold meaning in Scripture; once it means the good news of the grace of God in Christ; the other time it means the whole doctrine which Christ taught, thus also the law. Now if by the gospel I also understand the law, then I say: here the word "gospel" is used in a broader sense. Paul says that according to the gospel Christ will also judge the Gentiles, who do not have the written law, much less the gospel. So here the word "gospel" is used in the broader sense of the law and the message of grace. But if I say to someone: I am now talking about the gospel, which may only be preached to poor sinners, to broken and crushed hearts, then I am obviously talking about the gospel in the narrower sense; for no one will claim that the gospel in the broader sense, i.e. insofar as it includes the law, should also be preached to broken hearts. The law has already had its effect on them, so I can only preach to them the gospel in the narrower sense, namely only the message of grace of Christ Jesus, the Savior of sinners; but the gospel in the broader sense must be preached to the whole world. Now the Formula of Concord says that it speaks of the election of grace, which is only for the pious, so it speaks of the election of grace in the narrower, or best, sense. For she has expressly said beforehand that one must distinguish between providence, praesceientia, which is about good and evil, and between election or praedestinatio, which is only about the pious children of God.

The Tübingen theologians write in their Censura de doctrinaHuberi: "Now we come to the Book of Concord, which, apart from the general will, mercy and good pleasure to make all men blessed through Christ to be grasped by faith, deals so broadly and so deliberately (ex professo)

with specific election that we believe that no man of sound mind could be found who would either be able or dare to deny it." (Acta Huberiana II, 36. Cited by Frank op. cit. p. 284.)

Thesis III.

Whoever wishes to remove the offense which reason takes at this doctrine can do so only by either making what God has seen in man the cause of his election, as the synergists do, and thus falsifying the Lutheran doctrine of free will and conversion (a), or by making God the cause of reprobation, as Calvin does, and thus overturning the Lutheran doctrine of God's holiness and common grace (b).

a. C.-F. 588 f. § 3. 5. 594. § 24. 25. 598. § 40-42. 609. § 87. 606 f. § 75-78. [FC SD II 3, 5, 24, 25, 40-42, 75-78, 87]

b. C.-F. 557. § 17-19. [FC Ep XI 17-19]

It is true that the doctrine of the election of grace contains in itself inexplicable mysteries; for on the one hand it says that he who is saved is saved only by God's grace and effect without his doing anything; on the other hand it says that he who is damned is damned only through his own fault, without God doing anything about it. Reason says: If those who are saved are saved only because God works in them what is necessary, without their doing anything themselves, then it follows that those who are damned are also damned because God does not do this in them. Or, conversely, if it is claimed that those who are condemned are condemned only through their own fault, then it necessarily follows that those who are saved are saved because they do not have this fault, because they behave better than those who do, because there is something in them why God does not condemn them, but chooses them.

In order to resolve this apparent contradiction, reason must take one of these two paths: either it must say that God has chosen men because they have either done something for the sake of which God chose them, or that they have at least omitted something by virtue of their free will which would have prevented their choice; it must therefore say that the cause of the choice must lie in man. Or reason says: If man is not the cause of his choice, he cannot be the cause of his rejection. The first solution is that of the synergists, the second that of the Calvinists.

Synergists are those false teachers who claim that man can and must do something for his conversion and salvation. “Synergists” means co-workers in German. This error arose as early as Luther's time, but quite secretly; in fact, the first to teach synergism was Melanchthon. This otherwise excellent man allowed himself to be seduced by his reason into introducing the first seeds of synergism into his books in the later years of Luther's time. This can be proven by his own words. *)

*) He writes: "Since the promise is universal, and there is no double, contradictory will in God, the cause of the acceptance of the one and the rejection of the other must necessarily be in man himself. The right use of this doctrine in the exercises of faith and in the consolation of souls will confirm the truth that three things belong together, the Word of God, the Holy Spirit, and the will." (Corpus Reform. XXII, 658 [?]) [See Bente’s “Historical Introductions” here.]

Leonhard Hutter has written a defense of the Formula of Concord; he calls it Concordia Concors, or concord of one accord, because the Calvinists had said that our Concordia was a Concordia discors, that is, a discord of two accords. In it, this theologian also explains, among other things, why the Formula of Concord could not present Melanchthon as a champion of pure doctrine in the same way as Luther. Hutter says

Hutter: "The last loci communes or main doctrinal pieces of Philipp Melanchthon are not entirely orthodox.... He bases (ponit) election not only on God's will and mercy, but partly on the will of man. For he expressly says: 'In man is and must be a cause why some are chosen to salvation, others rejected and damned. And again: 'Since the promise is universal and there are no contradictory wills in God, it is necessary that there should be a cause of difference in us as to why Saul is rejected and David accepted, that is, it is necessary that there should be a different behavior (actionem) in these two. These emblems of Philipp Melanchthon argue directly (diametrically) with the orthodox doctrine of free will: 'Let there be a cause in us why some assent to the promise of grace and others do not.'" (Concordia Concors, p. 346. sq.)

If those who go to heaven are saved merely because God has worked all good in them, then, as Melanchthon said, those who perish must also perish merely because God has not worked good in them; so we must assume that man also contributes a little, even if it is only a weak affirmation that he is saved,

or at least he must refrain from resisting. Then, after all, the cause that a part is saved must be in man.

That certainly sounds quite reasonable; if it were so, then the mystery would be solved as beautifully as one could wish. But that is no different from saying: Whoever is good will go to heaven because he is good. That is the religion of the world, we are all born with it, but it is not the gospel of our God. No matter how much our reason rears up against it, it is true and remains true: it is not up to someone's will and running, but to God's mercy; and this is just as true: Death is the wages of sin, and is not the result of an eternal decree of God that certain people are not saved but damned.

Whoever says that man must also do something about it, or at least must refrain from doing something evil, and that is the reason why God prefers the one to the other, does not know the Scriptures. For it says: "What have you that you have not received? but if you have received it, what do you boast about, if you have not received it?" [1 Corinthians 4:7] That is the whole Bible, that is the whole Christian religion, the word: by grace you have been saved [Ephesians 2:8]. Every other religion refers man to his goodness, to his good works; but the Christian religion points man to the grace of God alone, to the merit of Christ, to nothing more, and declares man to be dead in sins by nature. But as he who is dead cannot do the least thing to come to life, so also he who is dead in sins, and that is what we all are by nature, can do nothing to awaken from his death of sin, to come to life and do good.

Let us now listen to the passages quoted from the Formula of Concord, in which synergism is rejected.

Thus it says in the Solid Declaration (M. p. 588. § 3; St. L. edition p. 401 f.): "For the one part has held and taught that although man is not able by his own powers to fulfill God's commandment, to truly trust, fear, and love God without the grace of the Holy Spirit, yet he has so much natural power left before the new birth that he can to some extent prepare himself for grace, and give the yes-word, but weakly, but, if the grace of the Holy Spirit does not come, he could not accomplish anything with it, but must lie prostrate in the struggle."

The synergists say: Man cannot do everything, but he must do something, he must at least send himself to grace. For example, if I cannot walk and someone is supposed to carry me, then I must also strive so that he can carry me. But in spiritual things it is not so; we cannot strive so that the good God can do something in us, but the good God must do everything.

Just as Christ did everything to raise Lazarus from death and bring him back from the grave, so God must do everything in spiritual things.

Thus it is said in the Solid Declaration (M. p. 588 f. § 5; St. L. Exg. p. 402): "Against these two theories the pure teachers of the Augsburg Confession have taught and argued that man is so corrupted by the fall of our first parents that he is blind by nature in divine matters concerning our conversion and salvation when God's Word is preached, nor can understand it, but considers it foolishness, and does not draw near to God by himself, but is and remains an enemy of God until he is converted, believes, is born again, and is renewed by the power of the Holy Spirit through the word preached and heard by pure grace without any effort on his part."

Here the Formula of Concord says: as long as a person is not converted, he is an enemy of God. "For to be carnally minded," says the Scripture, "is enmity against God." But if he is an enemy of God, it follows that he does nothing other than resist God. The resistance only ceases when God has converted him; then he begins to cooperate through the power of the Holy Spirit. Whoever teaches that man can at least refrain from resisting before his conversion contradicts the Formula of Concord and is a synergist.

Thus it says in the Solid Declaration (M. p. 594. M 24. 25; St. L. edition p. 405 f.): "But before man is enlightened, converted, born again, regenerated, and drawn by the Holy Spirit, he can for himself and by his own natural powers begin, work, or cooperate in spiritual things and his own conversion or regeneration, as little as a stone or block or clay. For although he may be able to rule the outward limbs and hear the gospel and consider it to some extent, and even speak of it, as can be seen in the Pharisees and hypocrites, he still considers it foolishness and cannot believe it, and considers himself worse than a block in that he is rebellious and hostile to God's will, unless the Holy Spirit is strong in him and kindles and works faith and other God-pleasing virtues and obedience in him. — Thirdly, Holy Scripture does not attribute conversion, faith in Christ, rebirth, regeneration and all that belongs to the real beginning and accomplishment of these things to the human powers of natural free will, neither in whole nor in half nor in part, but in solidum, that is, wholly and entirely, to divine action and the Holy Spirit alone, as the Apologia also says."

Here we read that in spiritual things man is by nature like a

stone, block or clay. Now go to a sculptor who has made a beautiful statue out of a block of marble, and ask him how much the block of marble has helped him in his work; he will say, "The block has done nothing but hinder me as much as possible. How much I had to chop and file and smooth it before the picture was finished! So also God, as the true spiritual sculptor, must do everything to a man so that he may bring forth the image of God in him again, and we do nothing; for the Scripture says that God alone makes the vessels of mercy. As little as a child born into this world has done anything towards its birth, just as little has a person who is born again through the Holy Spirit done anything towards his rebirth. When an unconverted person goes to church and hears God's word, he usually thinks at first: "What is that clergyman babbling about from the pulpit? I'll never go to him again, he wants to make me into a scoundrel. But lo and behold, he comes to church again, the law delivers him from his sinful ruin, the gospel sheds its light into his soul, and before he knows it, God has overcome him; the new spiritual child is born and finds himself in a new spiritual world, in Christ's kingdom of grace.

But most of the time people remain enemies of God, especially if they have heard the word for a long time and yet have not converted. Even if God's wrath and damnation are held against them, even if they are preached to about God's grace towards poor sinners, about heaven and eternal life, they still want to remain devoted to their carnal lusts; the drunkard wants to continue drinking, the thief wants to continue stealing, the lewd person wants to continue living in lust. In short, whatever the devil's snares there are, the sinful man wants to remain in them, and of course he will not be converted.

So it was with Felix. He wanted money from Paulo, and Paulo preached repentance to him. He was frightened by the apostle's words, the Holy Spirit had knocked at his heart; but instead of asking Paul in his terror, "What must I do to be saved?" he said to him, "Go away for this time." His greed for money prevented him from being converted.

This is how most people feel when they come to church; they realize that something is going on in them, but instead of being moved by the grace of the Holy Spirit to say: O God, welcome, you have now appeared to my heart to bring me out of my misery, I accept the message of grace that you have brought me; instead they say: I will not go to the preacher again, they become quite melancholy. That is the shameful reluctance; unfortunately, man can do that only too well; and only the good Lord can heal us from this

reluctance through the power of his grace. That is why our passage also says that Holy Scripture does not attribute the slightest thing to man with regard to his conversion.

This is the point. If we agree on this, then the other will soon be found. But this is what offends everyone by nature: he should do nothing at all to be saved, and those who are not saved should be blamed for the fact that they are not saved but damned. No human being can understand that. But the dear God is not a man either; he is the All-Wisdom, and we poor earthly worms should not boast that we can see into the depths of God's spirit and work it out: Yes, this moves God and that moves God, and finally this and that comes into being. No, the dear God wants to remain hidden as long as he has not revealed himself to us; and only in eternal life shall we see him face to face, that is, we shall gloriously understand all his mysterious counsels, which shall then rise like suns to us, while here they appear to us as vain darkness and contradiction. Therefore let us wait confidently until the time comes, and not try to solve the mystery now, for it cannot be done.

In the Solid Declaration it says (M. p. 598. §§ 40-42; St. L. edition p. 408): "In the Small Catechism of Dr. Luther it is written: "I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to him, but the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, sanctified and preserved me in the right faith; just as he calls, gathers, enlightens and preserves the whole of Christendom on earth in the right united faith with Jesus Christ", etc.

This should also be practiced in schools. Proper school teachers must lay this foundation, that man does nothing for his conversion, but God does everything; then they will also train such pupils who will not allow themselves to be misled by these difficult disputations, as by the election of grace. A good confirmand, when someone comes to him who teaches the doctrine of election of grace falsely, will say: "If you say that a man must do something in order to enter heaven, I do not accept it; my school teacher has already explained to me from the third article that I cannot believe in Christ Jesus my Lord or come to him by my own reason or strength. These words of our article must be the touchstone by which we also measure the doctrine of the election of grace; as indeed a boy, when he heard a false doctrine of the election of grace, which also imputes something to man in conversion, declared that it was contrary to the words, I believe that I cannot by my own reason nor strength believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to Him.”

It goes on to say: "And in the interpretation of the Lord's Prayer in the second petition are these words: 'How does this happen? Answer: 'When the heavenly Father gives us his Holy Spirit, that we may believe his holy Word through his grace and live godly lives' etc. — These testimonies say that we cannot come to Christ by our own efforts, but that God must give us his Holy Spirit, by which we are enlightened, sanctified and thus brought to Christ through faith and preserved with him, and that neither our will nor our cooperation is thought of."

Furthermore, in the Solid Declaration (M. p. 609. § 87; St. L. edition p. 415) it says: "For the conversion of our corrupt will, which is nothing other than an awakening of it from spiritual death, is the work of God alone, just as the resurrection in the bodily resurrection of the flesh is to be ascribed to God alone, as has been indicated in detail above and proven with revelatory testimonies of Holy Scripture."

This is the clearest passage in Holy Scripture against the synergists, where it says: "You would be dead through sin." For if a man is dead in sins, how can he do anything to become alive? But conversion is nothing other than coming to life from spiritual death.

Finally, in the Solid Declaration (M. p. 606 f.; [FC SD II §§ 75-78), where all synergistic heresies are rejected, it says: "2. Secondly, the gross Pelagian error that the free will, by its own natural powers, without the Holy Spirit, can convert itself to God, believe the Gospel, and obey God's law with all its heart, and with this voluntary obedience earn forgiveness of sins and eternal life. — 3. Third, the error of the papists and scholastics, who have made it a little more subtle, and have taught that man by his natural powers can make a beginning for good and for his own conversion, and that then the Holy Spirit, because man is too weak to accomplish it, comes to the aid of the good begun by his own natural powers. — 4. Fourth, the Synergist doctrine, which holds that man is not indeed dead in spiritual things, but badly wounded and half-dead, and therefore, although his free will is too weak to make a beginning and to convert himself to God by his own powers, and to obey the law of God with all his heart, yet, if the Holy Spirit makes the beginning and calls us through the gospel and offers his grace, forgiveness of sins and eternal salvation, that then the free will may meet God out of its own natural powers, and do something, however little and weakly, to help and cooperate, send and apply itself to the grace of God

and take hold of it, accept it and believe the gospel, and also cooperate in the continuation and preservation of this word from his own strength, alongside the Holy Spirit. — On the other hand, however, it has been proved at length above that such power, namely facultasapplicandi se ad gratiam, that is, to send oneself naturally to grace, does not come from our own natural powers, but solely through the work of the Holy Spirit."

On April 20, 1577, Prince Joachim Ernst von Anhalt, who was influenced by his synergistic theologians, wrote to Landgrave Wilhelm of Hesse about the Torgau Book, the basis of the Formula of Concord: "Thus all those who are opposed to this doctrine (of the synergists of free will) and imagine an unknown predestination from some misunderstood locismust confess that the cause of reprobation is sin and contempt for the Word of God: therefore they must of necessity also admit the conclusion that, on the contrary, those are the elect who accept grace, and not those into whom grace is poured as into empty jars without any movement or consent on their part, for this enthusiasm is contrary to the analogy of Scripture and involves infinite distastefulness (absurda)." Further down it says: "Now we cannot find in the Torgau book that this is rightly distinguished with the same breadth, because it says that to whom God wills to be saved he gives grace to believe; then they may answer why he does not grant this to all." (Cited by Frank, Th. der Concordienf. IV, 267.)

On the other hand, Hollaz writes: "Non-malicious resistance means either the omission of a resistance which opposes the outward use of the means of grace; or the omission of a resistance which opposes the outward use of the means of grace. Resistance that opposes the inward grace of conversion. The latter omission is a matter of free will; the latter is due to divine grace, which takes away the stony heart." (Examen theolog. P. III. s. 1. c. 1. q. 9. p. 602.)

But our Formula of Concord also rejects the way in which Calvin wants to solve the mystery. He says that the reason why some are saved and others damned is precisely because God wants some to go to heaven and does not want others to go to heaven; he has destined some to heaven from eternity and others to hell. But that is a blasphemous doctrine. No, God has not destined anyone to damnation; he wants all men to be saved, and not one soul to perish. Now even if we cannot rhyme this, it does no harm; the Christian religion is not a religion of reason or understanding, but of faith.

It is also a real foolishness; if someone wants to be a Christian, he will say: I believe in the triune God; I believe that there is only one divine being; and yet I believe that the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. But who wants to solve this greatest mystery with his reason? If I say to a student: The Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God; how many gods are these? he will quickly have the example and say: Three. But now I say to him: No, my dear child, this is not a matter of reason, for it is written that there is only one God, and yet the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. Then the pupil says to me: But I cannot understand that; and I answer him: Neither can I; we just cannot understand that, we have to believe it.

The opponents of our doctrine of election by grace do not want to dissolve the mystery of the Holy Trinity either, they believe it as well as we do, despite their reason; but so they should also leave the mystery of election by grace. For this is what we must do with every article of faith: we must leave the mystery which it contains in itself.

Our Formula of Concord speaks (M. p. 557. §§ 17-19; St. L. ed. p. 380 f.): "Accordingly we reject the following errors: 1. As if it were taught that God does not will that all men should repent and believe the gospel. — 2. Again, when God calls us to Himself, that it is not His will that all men should come to Him. — 3. that God does not want everyone to be saved, but that he has ordained them to be condemned by the mere counsel, purpose and will of God, so that they cannot be saved."

The same also says (M. p. 715 ff. §§ 52-63; St. L. edition p. 484 f.): "But a special distinction must be made between what is expressly revealed and what is not revealed in God's Word; for God has still kept much of this mystery secret and hidden from us beyond what has hitherto been said and revealed in Christ, and has reserved it to His wisdom and knowledge alone, which we should not investigate, nor follow our thoughts, conclude or ponder, but keep to the revealed Word; which remembrance is most necessary.... For this is always much more to occupy our imagination than that which God has revealed in his Word, because we cannot reason it out, nor are we commanded to do so."

So God has completely forbidden us to ponder. He says: "Blessed are those who do not see and yet believe." Nor should we rhyme what we cannot rhyme. The good Lord will know how to rhyme it. Nor should we "conclude" here, that is, draw conclusions.

The Formula of Concord continues: "So there is no doubt that God foreknew and knows in the most certain way before the time of the world which of those who are called will believe and which will not believe; item, which of the converted will remain steadfast, which will not remain steadfast; which will return after the fall, which will fall into impenitence. The number of the two is known to God without any doubt. But because God has reserved this mystery to his wisdom, and has not revealed it to us in the Word, much less commanded us to search it out in our thoughts, but earnestly restrained us from doing so, Rom. 11:33, f., we should not reason, conclude, or ponder it with our thoughts, but hold fast to his revealed Word, by which he instructs us."

When I hear about the election of grace, that God has foreseen which will be saved and which will be damned, I should not think so: If I am predestined for salvation, God knows that I will be saved, so it must follow; and if I am not elected, then it will not help me even if I repent. Therefore I will live as I desire, for thereby I will not make it worse than God knows it will be. This voice of the devil wants above all to reject the Formula of Concord and says: You should not make any conclusions; you should let God know, and not worry about the fact that God knows; you should only go the way that God has marked out for you, — period.

That is quite right according to reason: If the good Lord knows that I must die tomorrow, I can call together all the doctors in the world and eat and drink all the medicine in the world, I must still die. But I should not do as the Turks do, who calmly carry the plague sufferers on their backs, because they think: If I am not to die, I will not die; but if I am to die, I may do as I please, I must die. Their priests tell them: Everything is predestined by God, and everything will happen as God has ordained; therefore, do what you want, nothing can harm you. That is why these people go to war so calmly, because they think: If my hour has come, I must die, I may be in battle or sitting at home; if it has not come, all the cannons in the world may be pointed at me, but I will not die. This conclusion is, of course, quite correct in the eyes of reason, which cannot judge otherwise; but the devil reward us for questioning our reason. Our confession says: Of course God knows beforehand who will be saved and who will be damned; but because God has not revealed it to you, you must take it as if you did not know it.

The Formula of Concord continues: "So also God knows without

all doubt, and has appointed to each one the time and hour of his calling, conversion; but because this has not been revealed to us, we have commanded that we should always continue with the word, but that we should commend the time and hour to God, Act. 1:7."

This is true: if the time and hour when God wants a man to be converted has not yet come, we may do what we like, he will not be converted; but God has not revealed the hour to you, so that you do not ask about it. A preacher should therefore preach to all his hearers continually, and not think, "Oh, why do I want to preach to such and such a one? his hour may not yet have come. No, says the Formula of Concord, you should stop; God has not revealed it to you, therefore you must act as one who is not supposed to know it. Therefore stop teaching, punishing, threatening, admonishing, and leave the rest to God! So let not the hearers think: Oh, perhaps my hour is not here today, I will therefore stay at home; no, you should not think so, but you should go to church and use every little hour so that you do not miss your hour. For woe to thee if thou hast missed it! it may not return. How many a man may have lost his salvation by staying at home during the service, shunning frost, wind, rain and the heat of the sun more than God's wrath! The preacher may have told him in this very sermon what was necessary for his conversion, but he did not hear it, and so he lost the grace that God had intended for him.

We read further in the Formula of Concord: "Likewise, when we see that God gives his word in one place, does not give it in another, takes it away from one place, leaves it in another; item, one is hardened, blinded, given to a wrong mind, another, though in the same guilt, is converted again rc.In these and similar matters Paul sets us a certain goal as to how far we should go, namely, that we should recognize God's judgment in one part; for these are well-deserved punishments of sins, when God punishes the contempt of his word in a country or people in such a way that it also passes over to the descendants, as can be seen in the Jews; by which God shows his earnestness to his own in some countries and persons, which we all well deserve and are worthy and worthy of, because we behave badly against God's word and often grieve the Holy Spirit with difficulty; so that we may live in the fear of God, and recognize and praise God's goodness without and against our merit, in and with us, to whom he gives and leaves his word, whom he does not harden and reject."

Here is the real difficulty. Two people are equally guilty; one is converted, the other is hardened. Where does this come from? They are both equally corrupt, the same

Word of God is preached to them, who can explain this? This is the great difficulty, that we know that man can do nothing to be saved, God must do everything, and yet he who is lost is guilty himself. This is incompatible for human reason; and yet both sentences are true, irrefutably true. Some hear God's Word for many years and are not converted; the good Lord goes on and on, and at last he is converted. Another hears God's Word only a few times, is not converted, and God gives him up in hardening. Why did he allow his Word to be preached to that one for years and give him away so quickly? Our Formula of Concord says: We can do nothing but praise God's goodness in that one, but in this one we should recognize God's terrible judgment, for it is a deserved one. God demands this of us. That is why we should first of all praise God's grace in ourselves, who have been converted by God's grace. For thus our

Formula of Concord finally says: "For since our nature is corrupted by sin, worthy and guilty of God's wrath and condemnation, God owes us neither word, spirit nor grace, and if he gives it by grace, we often cast it away and make ourselves unworthy of eternal life Act. 13, 46. And such his righteous, well-blamed judgment he allows to be seen in some countries, peoples and persons, so that we, if we hold against them and compare with them, may learn to recognize and praise God's pure, undeserved grace all the more diligently in the vessels of mercy. — For those are not wronged who are punished and receive the wages of their sins; but for others, when God gives and receives his word and people are thereby enlightened, converted and preserved, God praises his pure grace and mercy without their merit. — When we walk in this article, we stay on the right path, as it is written in Hos. 3:9: 'Israel, thou art destroyed, the iniquity is thine: but my mercy is pure to save thee. — But what in this disputation wants to run too high and out of these bounds, we should put our finger on the mouth with Paulo, remember and say: 'Who are you, man, who wants to be right with God?"

The faithful confessors of the Formula of Concord also recognized this. Chemnitz, Selnecker and Kirchner wrote an apology of it on the orders of the Lutheran princes, just as Melanchthon wrote an apology or defense of the Augsburg Confession.

In this Apology of the Formula of Concord we read: "But when it is asked why the Lord God does not convert all men (which he certainly could) by his Holy Spirit and make them believers, etc., let the apostle also say

"Quam incomprehensibiliasunt judicia ejus et impervedigabilesviae ejus!", but by no means attribute to God the Lord Himself the willing and real cause of the rejection or condemnation of the impenitent. But if they urge us and say: because you confess the election of the elect, you must also confess the other, namely, that in God Himself there is a cause of reprobation from eternity, even apart from sin, etc., then we say that we have no such cause. We say, then, that we are in no way minded to make God the cause of condemnation (which is not really in God, but in sin) and to ascribe to him the cause of the condemnation of the ungodly; but we want to remain with the saying of the prophet Hosea chapter 13 [Hosea 13:9], where God says: 'Israel, thou bringest thyself into trouble; thy salvation is with me alone. Nor, as we heard above from Luther, do we want to inquire about the dear God if he is hidden and has not revealed himself. For it is too high for us and we cannot comprehend it; the more we get involved in this, the further we get from the dear God and the more we doubt his most gracious will towards us. Nor does the Book of Concord deny that God does not work in all men in the same way, for there are many at all times whom he has not called through public preaching; but that we should therefore conclude to the contrary that he is a real cause of the rejection of such people, and that he has decided for himself out of mere counsel that he wants to reject them and cast them out eternally, even apart from sin, they should never persuade us to do so. For it is enough, when we come to this depth of God's mystery, to say with the apostle Romans 11: 'His judgments are unsearchable', and 1 Corinthians 15: 'We thank God, who has given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ'. What is beyond this will be revealed to us by our Savior Christ Himself in eternal life." (Apology of the Formula of Concord. Dresden, 1584. toi. 206. f.)

Chemnitz further writes: "But how is it then that Judas is not exempted, that he does not receive forgiveness of sin, since he repented of what he had done? And what is lacking in his repentance and penitence that he cannot obtain mercy? He had no faith in Christ, did not believe that God is merciful and forgives sin, and that does him harm; then where there is no faith, there is no grace from God, nor forgiveness of sin. Now our catechism says in the third article of our Christian Creed that man cannot believe in Jesus Christ or come to him by his own reason or strength, but that the Holy Spirit must bring him to such faith, for faith is a gift of God; how is it then that God does not give Judah such faith in his heart that he could have believed that he could be helped through Christ? Here

we must return with our questions, and say Romans 11: 'Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God, how incomprehensible are his judgments and unsearchable his ways!’ We cannot and should not search this out and delve too far into such thoughts, but use it so that we do not deliberately enter into sin and tempt God, lest God pull his hand away from us and let us sink; for where this happens, we always fall from one sin into another, and gradually slide so deeply into sin that there is no return afterwards, and we cannot reach for the state again. As it was with Judah." (Sermons on the Passion. Th. IV. p. 17. f.)

We should therefore believe God's Word with simplicity, and not fill our hearts with thoughts about God's secret counsel. Do you ask: Yes, can I not think about it? we answer: Of course you can, but who told you to think and ponder so much about what is going on in God's heart? You should not do that; that is your sin. So if you fall into temptation over this teaching, it is your own fault. For if you simply take the Bible as it reads, which says: Whoever believes in the Lord Jesus will be saved, he is the elect, and you believe in him, then you should and can say: Praise God, I believe in Christ, I will not fall away from him, I will pray to him every day that he will keep me in the faith; then I will be happy and not be troubled by the fact that there are so many things in the Bible that I cannot rhyme. No, he who is such a climber of the Spirit, as Luther says, and wants to search out the secret things, will fall from the rock and break his neck. For God will not have us to ponder his mysteries.

Finally Tim. Kirchner: "Is God the cause that some are condemned? Answer: By no means; for he swears and says himself that he does not desire the death of the sinner, but that he may be converted and live, Ezek. 18 Therefore we should not say that the rejection of the wicked is God's will or ordinance, but rather confess that sin is a cause of it, "for the wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6). Answer: There is no doubt about it, if he wanted to use his omnipotence; *) [*) That God, if he willed, could convert all men by the power of his omnipotence, is denied by all modern theologians, because they think that only this is a true faith, which is man's own free act;] but that he does not do it, we have not to discuss it. Paul

writes in Romans 9 that he "shows his wrath and makes known his power and bears the vessels of wrath with great patience," etc. In those whom he allows to remain in their unbelief, he shows his righteousness and wrath against sin. He owes us nothing, but what he gives and does, he does out of pure grace, for the sake of Jesus Christ; we have to thank and attribute everything to him. — Since faith in Christ is a special gift of God, why does he not give it to everyone? Answer: We should save this question for eternal life, but be content with the fact that God does not want us to investigate his secret judgments, Romans 11: 'O what depth of riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are his judgments!" — But does it seem as if God is unjust that he does not give his knowledge and faith to all men, Turks, Gentiles and the impenitent? Answer: How can he be unjust, because he owes no man anything (Matthew 20) and could have let them all die in their sins! This is why the apostle Romans 9 says: 'Dear man, who are you to argue with God? God also seems to be unjust in this, that here on earth he lets the pious fare badly and the wicked well for the most part; and reason cannot fit in here at all (the gospel indicates the reason why God lays many a cross on his own here and spares glory there): so also here it seems to us that God is unjust in that he does not give all men his word and faith in Christ, and our reason cannot find its way out of this in this life. But when we come there and into that life, then we will see and understand that God is not unjust in not giving the word and faith to all men. The light of glory will then finely and easily resolve this question; which resolution we cannot, however, see in the light of grace. God's punishments and judgments on sin must be recognized just as much as His grace. All human nature is corrupted by sin; therefore God owes us nothing but forgiveness! Even though he sometimes gives his word and grace, we cast them out and make ourselves unworthy of eternal life, as Act. 13 says of the Jews. Therefore no injustice can be imputed to the Lord God in this case." (German Enchiridion, p. 142 f.)

Thesis IV.

This doctrine of the election of grace does not obscure or weaken the doctrine of justification and salvation by faith, but rather reinforces and confirms it.

C.-F. 713 f. § 43. [FC SD XI 43]

Luther says concerning Matthew 5:16: "To teach and confess Christ aright is not possible without faith. As St. Paul says in 1 Cor. 12:3: "No one can call Jesus Lord without the Holy Spirit. For no false Christian, nor the spirit of a sect, can understand this teaching. How much less will he preach and confess it rightly, even if he takes the words and repeats them, but does not stick to them or leave them pure? he always preaches in such a way that he is taken for granted that he is not right; yet he smears his zeal on it, thereby taking away Christ's honor and giving it to himself. Therefore, this alone is the most certain work of a true Christian, when he praises and preaches Christ in such a way that people learn how they are nothing and Christ is everything." (VII, 623.)

This is most important! Indeed, it depends on whether a preacher preaches in such a way that the listeners learn that they are nothing and can do nothing, and that Christ is everything and does everything. This is the summa summarum, the pure, true doctrine of justification and salvation by grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ. Whoever pushes justification in such a way that the listeners are brought into their own work shamefully falsifies this doctrine, he has taken the core out of all the talk about faith and the grace of God.

And it is precisely the most zealous preachers who often do this. In their fear that the people might be lost, they want to do everything so that their listeners do not fall into the false delusion of a mere head faith; and now they disguise grace and hide the Lord Jesus from the poor sinners in such a way that they do not come to grace and do not see the Lord Jesus in all his glory. The preacher has made people anxious and full of fear as to whether they can be saved, so that they are always in doubt; but they are not cheerful and eager to do good works, because they are never sure of their state of grace and their salvation. For he who does not know that God has already unlocked heaven for him and given him eternal life does not become joyful in all good works, but remains a miserable servant of the law all his life; only now and then does he allow a so-called good work to be squeezed out of him. On the other hand, he who knows that heaven is yours, that the Lord Jesus is yours, that you can die at any moment and be saved — from such a person I can demand anything; he will do anything if he only sees that love demands it.

Why is there so much willingness to help one's neighbor in our synod? The begging letters do not stop; we are often in great embarrassment when we have to present them to our dear Christians, and think: people will finally be annoyed by our begging; and behold! it is not long before it is raining and snowing with gifts of love. This is because, by God's grace, the pure doctrine of justification by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone is so eagerly pursued and proclaimed with fervent lips. Admittedly, we have only made a faint beginning in this; if Luther already had to say that he had only gotten a taste of it, how many thousand times more must we say this! But this is a real light for us, this saying of Luther's: You must preach in such a way that people learn how they are nothing and Christ is everything.

I can therefore only teach the election of grace correctly if it is in complete agreement with this saying of Luther. As soon as such an election of grace is taught, according to which something is also placed in man, then it is false. Now we must be careful not to ascribe a work to man, for the doctrine of works has become too disreputable; but even if faith is placed in man as a motive for God, that too is wrong.

No, let us cheerfully confess until our death: Nothing in man has moved God to save him, but it is his grace and Christ's merit that has moved him. Again, we confess just as firmly: Let him who is condemned attribute it not to God, but to himself!

It is therefore an abominable misinterpretation of our doctrine to say that the Missourians begin by placing justification in the background behind election by grace, whereas election by grace is seldom preached among us, and rightly so. This is not a doctrine that should be practiced as predominantly as other doctrines, for it is not a doctrine that lays a foundation, but a doctrine that only gives special comfort when we are already on the way to heaven. On the contrary, precisely that in the doctrine of election of grace which coincides with the doctrine of justification is the most delicious, comforting and sweetest thing for us. This is what we always do when we speak of the election of grace and tell our listeners: "Oh dear people, you want to be saved; do not despair, God asks nothing of you, it is all grace, just come, you who are thirsty, and drink, you who are hungry, and eat, do not offer any money, you shall be saved for nothing, salvation in Christ Jesus belongs to the whole world. Do not do as the children of the world do, who pass by and yield to the lusts of the world, but do as the children of God

have always done, believe it! you will not be rapped on the knuckles if you take hold of it. For this is what the false prophets do; they are characterized by saying to those who hunger for grace: This and that must first take place in you before you are in a state in which you may grasp grace; whereas the one who knows that he is lost with his sins is in the right state to grasp the grace that is offered to him through the gospel, and we call out to him: You cannot grasp it quickly enough.

Thus the Formula of Concord (M. p. 713. § 43; St. L. ed. p. 483): "And inasmuch as the mystery of providence is revealed to us in the Word of God, and if we abide by it and keep to it, it is a useful, salutary, comforting doctrine; for it powerfully confirms the article that we are justified and saved without all our works and merits, purely by grace, for Christ's sake alone; For before the world was, before we were, even before the foundation of the world was laid, when we could do no good, we were chosen to salvation by grace in Christ according to the purpose of God, Rom. 9:11. 2 Tim. 1:9."

There is no doctrine in the Scriptures that confirms the doctrine of justification more, that makes it brighter and clearer, than the doctrine of election by grace. For if it is true that those who are saved have been destined for it from eternity, and that God has at the same time decided to convert them, bring them to faith and keep them in faith to the end, despite the fact that he has seen nothing good in them, what can confirm the doctrine of justification more than this? For if God has already from eternity intended our salvation, it must be free grace that we can boast of nothing ourselves, so that we cannot say: But I have also let it cost me something to get to heaven. No, we have made work for the Lord, [Is. 43:24], he has paid something to save us, namely his blood of God. We must therefore give Him alone all honor and glory.