Martin Luther: Double Or Nothing

[JM]

A good read about Luther's theology concerning predestination.

Double Or Nothing: Martin Luther's Doctrine of Predestination by Brian G. Mattson

"If you hesitate to believe, or are too proud to acknowledge, that God foreknows and wills all things, not contingently, but necessarily and immutably, how can you believe, trust and rely on His promises?"

 

[JM]

"If, then, we are taught and believe that we ought to be ignorant of the necessary foreknowledge of God and the necessity of events, Christian faith is utterly destroyed, and the promises of God and the whole gospel fall to the ground completely; for the Christian's chief and only comfort in every adversity lies in knowing that God does not lie, but brings all things to pass immutably, and that His will cannot be resisted, altered, or impeded."

 

[Osage Bluestem]

"If, then, we are taught and believe that we ought to be ignorant of the necessary foreknowledge of God and the necessity of events, Christian faith is utterly destroyed, and the promises of God and the whole gospel fall to the ground completely; for the Christian's chief and only comfort in every adversity lies in knowing that God does not lie, but brings all things to pass immutably, and that His will cannot be resisted, altered, or impeded."

Great quote. Is that Martin Luther himself?

 

[JM]

Yes and I would go as far to say "The Bondage of the Will" is a must read for all Christians.

 

[Osage Bluestem]

Yes and I would go as far to say "The Bondage of the Will" is a must read for all Christians.

Why don't Lutherans believe in double predestination if Martin Luther himself affirmed it?

 

[JM]

Why don't Lutherans believe in double predestination if Martin Luther himself affirmed it?

Luther got tired of fighting near the end of his life and left a lot of the work in the hands of Philip Melanchthon who was very soft on this issue. Luther did believe Bondage of the Will was his most important work.

 

[Osage Bluestem]

Luther got tired of fighting near the end of his life and left a lot of the work in the hands of Philip Melanchthon who was very soft on this issue. Luther did believe Bondage of the Will was his most important work.

So are Lutherans even properly called Lutherans or Melanchthonians?

 

[JM]

So are Lutherans even properly called Lutherans or Melanchthonians?

That's debatable.

Luther may have weakened his stance as time went on. I found this quote from Bavinck that seems to support that idea, "Luther accordingly, increasingly avoided the speculative doctrine of predestination, the will of divine good pleasure, the hidden God, preferring to focus on the ministry of Word and sacraments, to which grace is bound, and giving increasing prominence to God’s universal redemptive will, his expressed will." Luther seems to have shied away from the doctrines of election to avoid, what he believed, were needless debates.

Luther really nailed predestination but failed in all other points. Here's a read on how the rest of his theology lines up with the doctrines of grace.

Martin Luther and Is Luther’s Doctrine of Predestination Reformed?

 

[Osage Bluestem]

That's debatable.

Luther may have weakened his stance as time went on. I found this quote from Bavinck that seems to support that idea, "Luther accordingly, increasingly avoided the speculative doctrine of predestination, the will of divine good pleasure, the hidden God, preferring to focus on the ministry of Word and sacraments, to which grace is bound, and giving increasing prominence to God’s universal redemptive will, his expressed will." Luther seems to have shied away from the doctrines of election to avoid, what he believed, were needless debates.

Luther really nailed predestination but failed in all other points. Here's a read on how the rest of his theology lines up with the doctrines of grace.

Martin Luther and Is Luther’s Doctrine of Predestination Reformed?

I have a friend on Play Chess Online - Free Chess Games at Chess.com who is an LCMS Lutheran pastor (good chess player ). I posted your article for his review during one of our chess matches. He posted a reply in audio form. He said he doesn't believe that Luther taught double predestination and the reason why is on this audio clip starting at 20:10 http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/issuesetc.org/podcast/622111610H1.mp3

 

[JM]

I'm listening now...but as the article pointed out Lutherans will lean back on a traditional understanding of Luther rather then his work in Bondage of the Will. If you have read Bondage you'll quickly note that Luther is teaching high predestination. Even if he changed his position latter in life, and I believe he did, it doesn't really affect the teaching in this work.