The Lutheran Doctrine of Predestination, A Melanchthonian Perspective

In the earliest editions of his Loci communes theologici ("Common Topics of Theology"), Luther's friend and colleague Philip Melanchthon did not address in great detail the doctrine of predestination. In the Loci of 1521, for instance, he discussed it only briefly in the section dealing with the freedom of the human will. Following the teaching of Luther he stated: "If you relate human will to predestination, there is freedom in neither external nor internal acts, but all things take place according to determination." (1) Other than this statement, he avoided the discussion of predestination, stating that man should be very cautious about delving into the mysteries of God, but rather look to Christ and his redemption.

Later in his career (c. 1535), however, while never claiming to drift from the doctrine as taught by Luther, he began to focus not on the sovereignty of God and his power to elect, but rather on God's gift of election as a comfort to the Christian believer. "First, he has demonstrated with manifest miracles that there certainly is a definite gathering of people which he loves, cares for, and will adorn with blessings…. And in order that we may continue to possess this comfort, it is useful to say something about the doctrine of predestination." (2) Thus, believers are to cling to the words of Christ in John 10:27, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me, and I give them life eternal, and they shall never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hands." Therefore, says Melanchthon, a Church of the elect will always remain.

Concerning the causes of election, Melanchthon gives three. "First is that we might judge regarding our election not on the basis of Law but on the basis of Gospel. Second is that the entire number of those who are to be saved is chosen (electus) for the sake of Christ (propter Christum). The third is that we may seek no other cause." (3) Election is predicated upon the redemption we have in Christ which we apprehend by faith. "Thus Peter is elect because he is a member of Christ, just as he is righteous, that is, pleasing to God, because by faith he has been made a member of Christ." (4)

Melanchthon affirms that God wills all to be saved because the immutable will of God is that we hear his Son, as he has said [Matt. 17:5], "Hear him." "And just as the preaching of repentance is universal and accuses all, as it is clearly stated in Romans 3, so also the promise of grace is universal, as many passages testify." (5) "Romans 11:31, 'God has imprisoned them all under disobedience, that he might have mercy upon them all,' that is, he accuses the disobedience of all, he calls all to repentance, and again he offers mercy to all." (6)

As to the cause of reprobation, according to Melanchthon, there is only one, that is, the sin of men who do not hear the voice of the Gospel or who reject the faith. "In those people it is certain that the cause of their reprobation is sin and human will. For it is a completely true statement that God is not the cause of sin and does not will sin." (7)

On the other hand, Melanchthon teaches, it is correct to say that the cause of election is the merciful will of God, who on account of his Son gathers and preserves the Church. There is no doubt that the elect are those who in faith take hold of God's mercy in Christ and never give up that confidence. "Assuredly all are elected for eternal life who, through faith in the Lord Christ, in the conversion of this life receive comfort and do not fall away before their death; for thus says the text, 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord'" [Rev 14:13]. (8) God calls the elect to himself on account of his Son through faith (propter Christum per fidem). "God begins and draws us by his holy Word and the Holy Spirit, but it is necessary for us to hear and learn, that is, to take hold of the promise and assent to it, not to fight against it or be hesitant and filled with doubt." (9)

"In Ephesians 1:4 he says, 'He has chosen us in Christ,' in order that he may teach us that the cause of our election is not our own worthiness, but Christ, so that we do not consider our election apart from Christ and the Gospel, but always seek the cause of our election in the promise of Christ." (10) According to Melanchthon, this truth brings the believer a threefold comfort. First, they who are called are those who hear, learn and confess the Gospel. "So, it is very comforting and true that only those who are called are numbered among the predestined, that is, among those who listen to and learn God's Word, for 'Those whom he has chosen, he also calls.'" (11) Second, God has chosen us because he has decreed to call us to the knowledge of the Son, and because of this his blessings will be upon us. Third, the testimony of God is present with the visible company which he has called, and is efficacious in this called company, the Church. "Therefore we should not turn our eyes away from the universal promise, but include ourselves in it and know for certain that in it the will of God is expressed." (12)

This is the doctrine that Melanchthon taught until his death in 1560. For Melanchthon, the cause of election is the mercy of God on account of Christ and is to be seen in light of the Gospel promise. For those who confess Christ as their Savior it brings great assurance. God's offer of grace is to be seen as universal and the cause of reprobation is to be assigned only to the sin of men who do not hear the voice of the Gospel or unbelief of those who reject the faith. "Therefore let us strengthen our faith and pray that the Son of God will preserve his sheep, because at the same time he also says, 'They hear me and follow me.'" (13)

Do Melanchthon and Luther Agree?

In his formulation of the doctrine of election, Melanchthon continually placed great stress on God's electing people on account of Christ through faith. Furthermore, election is never to be viewed apart from this Gospel message. In many ways, the same could be said of Luther. In fact, on this point the two men were not as different as some have thought. Says Luther: "If men believe the Gospel, they shall be saved. Indeed all the saints have had confidence and comfort with their election and with eternal life, not because of a special revelation of their predestination, but rather by faith in Christ." (14) When asked where to look for assurance of election, Luther responds, "Rather, hold to the promise of the Gospel. This will teach that Christ, God's only Son, came into the world in order to bless all nations on the earth, that is, to redeem them from sin and death, to justify and to save them." (15) Here one sees the many similarities between Luther and Melanchthon.

Yet Luther places more importance on the fact that election is all part of God's immutable sovereignty. In Melanchthon, we can see Luther's affirmation of the sovereign will of God being replaced by the universal saving will of God effectuated through the universal call of the Gospel. Always affirming that it is the power of the Holy Spirit that allows us to believe, Melanchthon explains that we must, therefore, assent to the promise of the Gospel. Luther teaches that we are unable to ascend to God and reiterates the absolute necessity for God to descend to us. "They are elect, Peter says. How? Not of themselves but according to God's purpose; for we are not able to raise ourselves to heaven or create faith within ourselves. God will not admit all men into heaven. He will very carefully count those who belong to him." (16) The difference is thus subtle, but real. For both men, the faith that results from the election of God on account of Christ is a gift of God through the Word. Yet, for Melanchthon, it is necessary to act on this gift, while Luther allows this gift of God to stand alone through grace. In other words, Luther's doctrine of election is summed up by the Reformation hallmarks, sola gratia soli Deo gloria (by grace alone and to God alone goes all the glory). On the other hand, for Melanchthon, election can be explicated by the phrase, propter Christum per fidem (on account of Christ through faith).

As is often the case, these small differences did not lead the two men to disagree with one another significantly concerning this doctrine. But the followers of these men did seem to side with either one or the other. In other words, later Lutheranism faced some turmoil concerning which is the proper emphasis in election: God's sovereignty or God's universal saving will through the call of the Word.

The Impact of Melanchthon's View of Predestination on Lutheran Theology

The Formula of Concord, which is the Lutheran Confession written seventeen years after Melanchthon's death, in many ways reads as though it had been written by him. It affirms all the hallmarks of a Melanchthonian view of election. (1) Election as Propter Christum: "We should accordingly consider God's eternal election in Christ, and not outside of it." (17) (2) The universal call to repentance and belief: "If we want to consider our election to salvation profitably, we must by all means cling rigidly and firmly to the fact that as the proclamation of repentance extends over all men (Luke 24:47), so also does the promise of the Gospel." (18) (3) The elect are brought into salvation per fidem: "God has ordained in his counsel that the Holy Spirit would call, enlighten, and convert the elect through the Word and that he would justify and save all who accept Christ through faith." (19) (4) Finally, that the only cause of reprobation is man's stubborn will in rejecting the call through the Word: "The reason for such contempt of the Word is not God's foreknowledge but man's perverse will." (20)

The Formula of Concord, though, goes further in delineating the difference between God's eternal foreknowledge and God's eternal decree of election. The Formula states that God's eternal foreknowledge extends to all while his eternal election extends only to the children of God. (21) In doing so, the Formula clarifies an area that Melanchthon (with his stress on faith) leaves unclear. It affirms a sort of "middle road" between Luther and Melanchthon. God's decree of election remains sovereign and his call universal. "Our election to eternal life does not rest on our piety or virtue but solely on the merit of Christ and the gracious will of the Father, who cannot deny himself because he is changeless in his will and essence." (22)

Later Lutheranism, as represented by the seventeenth-century dogmaticians did not always follow this careful formulation. Some of the dogmaticians lost this paradoxical image of God as having a will which is both partly hidden and partly revealed, sovereign and merciful, the freedom of his divine will and the bondage of ours, the careful distinction between God's Law and his life-giving Gospel. In many of the dogmaticians, these concepts were philosophically formalized, thus losing their life and vitality. The careful molding of Luther's concept of God's sovereign will with Melanchthon's teaching of God's saving will was lost. Rather, many of the great dogmaticians followed Melanchthon's emphasis on God's universal saving will alone. This led many (for example, the great Johann Gerhard) to teach the synergistic doctrine of intuitu fidei (God elects in view of foreseen faith). The efficacy of God's eternal decree became dependent on the faith of each individual. God wills all to be saved, but God's will does not come to pass unless we make the decision to believe. Says Gerhard, "And because God from eternity foresaw which humans might finally believe, and so that he decides to save these, that the eternal decree about the eternal salvation being shared to the finally believing, in view of the merits of Christ and the foreseen faith in Christ, done and precisely seen it is called especially by the name of predestination or election." (23) This led many to look to themselves for assurance rather than to Christ. Faith became a human work which had the ability to manipulate the decree of God. The result is a theology that focuses on man rather than God, a theology of glory rather than the theology of the Cross.

Conclusion

Much can be learned from Melanchthon's teaching concerning election. It is certainly profitable and biblical to view election not on the basis of Law but on the basis of Gospel. Surely, it is proper to teach that the entire number of those who are to be saved is chosen (electus) for the sake of Christ (propter Christum), and we should seek no other cause. Great benefit is also found in affirming the Scriptural teaching that the Gospel must be believed. That we must trust in Christ alone as our only hope for salvation is the whole of the good news of Christ. This Melanchthon not only affirmed but taught until his death.

Yet, to take this doctrine and lose sight of God's sovereignty to save those whom he elects is to go against the Scriptures themselves. This Melanchthon did not do. Nevertheless, it must be admitted that Melanchthon's followers took his emphasis on faith and the universality of the call beyond his own position, and thereby fell into great error. Our faith must be not seen as the cause of our election. Rather, faith is the product of election through the Word, by which we are brought into the benefits of Christ. As Melanchthon himself has said: "God's mercy is the cause of election, but it is necessary that this be revealed in the Word and that the Word be accepted. Thus he definitely offers this universally, and this is repeated in other chapters: 'All who believe in the Son shall not be confounded (Romans 9:33; 10:11).'" (24)