The abuse of the doctrine of predestination is not a good argument for its dismissal. Rather, what is needed is careful exposition of this crucial biblical doctrine, along with suggestions for removing the numerous causes of abuse.…Calvin boldly asserts, “No doctrine is more useful, provided it be handled in the proper and cautious manner… If men should evade every other argument, election shuts their mouth, so that they dare not and cannot claim anything for themselves.”

In 1524 Erasmus of Rotterdam decided to engage the famous Martin Luther in a debate over free will and salvation. Critical of Luther’s grace-oriented approach, Erasmus warned that Christians should not “through irreverent inquisitiveness rush into those things which are hidden, not to say superfluous.” Among the list of irreverent or superfluous debates, Erasmus included the question, “whether our will accomplishes anything in things pertaining to eternal salvation.” This assertion did not sit well with Luther who in 1525 published his book The Bondage of the Will as a way of responding to Erasmus’ complaints. “This is the cardinal issue between us, the point on which everything in this controversy turns,” Luther wrote. “For if I am ignorant of what, how far, and how much I can and may do in relation to God …I cannot worship, praise, thank, and serve God, since I do not know how much I ought to attribute to myself and how much to God.”

Throughout The Bondage of the Will, Luther presents his case that one cannot have a stable view of God’s grace unless it is anchored in the doctrine of election. He argues, for example, that a man will not completely despair of himself and his own works until he has “no doubt that everything depends upon the will of God.” Knowledge of God’s sovereign will in election then, is the only medicine strong enough to kill the virus of human pride in Luther’s scheme. “For as long as [one] is persuaded that he himself can do even the least thing toward his salvation, he retains some self-confidence and does not altogether despair of himself, and therefore he is not humbled before God, but presumes that there is…some place, time, and work for him, by which he may at length attain to salvation.”

But perhaps this medicine is a bit too strong? For often when Christians begin to consider the fact that salvation is out of their hands, they begin to question whether or not they belong to the number of God’s elect, and thus despair and doubt that they themselves are truly saved. The word Luther used to describe this type of anxiety was Anfechtungen, for he personally struggled with this question for some time. After repeatedly falling into the trap of speculating over predestination apart from Christ, Luther candidly admits, “I…actually get to the point of imagining that God is a rogue.” But Luther’s angst over predestination was met with good counsel from Staupitz, Luther’s mentor, as he recalls during one of his table conversations: Staupitz said, “If you want to dispute about predestination, begin with the wounds of Christ, and it will cease. But if you continue to debate about it, you will lose Christ, the Word, the sacraments, and everything.” Luther found in Staupitz’s advice something of great value, namely that all our thoughts concerning election and predestination must be anchored in Christ.

Again and again the reformer passes along the sound advice he received, warning his readers not to “be worried by the many people in the world who are not chosen. If you are not careful, that picture will quickly upset you and be your downfall.” Instead we are to “gaze at the heavenly picture of Christ, who descended into hell for your sake and was forsaken by God…In that picture your hell is defeated and your uncertain election is made sure.” Only in this way does God’s electing grace become for us a doctrine of great comfort and joy. But even here, Luther still offers us words of caution, “The old Adam must be quite dead before you can endure this matter and drink this strong wine. Therefore make sure you don’t drink wine while you are still a babe at the breast.”

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