Locus 14 — Predestination
be ordered by the knowledge of Christ and the Gospel, must judge [concerning our election]. it far and wide. Indeed, through the apostles He carried it to all the Gentiles because He willed that the eternal church be gathered to the Son. Therefore it is certain that the cause of reprobation is the sin in men who do not hear or receive the Gospel or who reject the faith, even before they have departed from it. In those people it is certain that the cause of their reprobation is their sin and their human will. For it is a completely true statement that God is not the cause of sin and does not will sin. We know that word of Ps. 5[:5], "You are not a God who wills iniquity." And in Hos. 13[:9] it says,
"Israel, you are destroyed, but your help is in Me." Saul of his own free will drove out the Holy Spirit, and of his own free will he fought against the Holy Spirit when the Spirit tried to move him. These things certainly are the cause of his rejection or reprobation, for the promise requires faith.
Therefore, we must look for a promise in which God has expressed His will, and we must understand that no other will is to be sought concerning His grace outside of His Word. The immutable will of God is that we are to hear His Son, as He has said [Matt. 17:5],
"Hear Him." This Word includes all the promises.
Therefore it must be fixed in our minds and always meditated in our daily prayer that the command of God is eternal and immutable, so that we may believe the promise of grace, which is the sum of the Gospel, just as the prophets, Christ, and the apostles teach with continuous agreement. In John 3[:16] it says, "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish." And John 6[:40], "This is the will of the Father, that everyone who believes in the Son may have eternal life."
On the other hand, however, it is correct to say that the cause of our election is the merciful will of God, who does not will that the entire human race should perish, but for the sake of His Son He gathers and preserves His church. Paul wants to say this when in Rom. 9[:15; cf. Ex. 33:19] he cites the statement "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy." He denies that men are chosen or elected on account of the Law, or that it is a prerogative of the human race. He does this in order that it might be entirely clear that the church is chosen and established for the sake of (propter) the Son; but yet in receiving there must be a grasping (apprehensio) of the promise or the knowledge of Christ.
For we are chosen that we might be made members of Christ. Therefore, as we have said [in the locus] on justification, there is some cause or reason (causa) in the one who accepts, but [it is] not his worthiness, for he lays hold on the promise, with which the Holy Spirit is at the same time efficacious, as Paul says [Rom.
10:17], "Faith comes by hearing." So also regarding our election, we must judge from the effects (a pos teriori), that is, there is absolutely no doubt that the elect are those who in faith take hold of God's mercy, which has been promised for the sake of Christ, and who never give up this confidence.
Further, this is the proper and principal voice of the Gospel. And just as the preaching of repentance is universal and accuses all, as it is clearly stated in Ro mans 3, so also the promise of grace is universal, as many passages testify. For example, Matt. 11[:28],
"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden."
John 3[:16], "Whoever believes in Him shall not perish."
Rom. 3[:22], "The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ, which is on all and over all who be lieve." Rom. 10[:12], "The same Lord over all is rich toward those who call upon Him." Rom. 11[:32]. "God has imprisoned (conclusit) them all under disobedi ence, that He might have mercy upon all," that is, He accuses the disobedience of all, He calls all to repen tance, and again He offers mercy to all.
In the same way Isaiah, in each part of the verse in ch. 53[:6], uses terms which express universality: "All we like sheep have gone astray," and "the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." Acts 10[:43], "To Him all the prophets bear witness, that all who believe in Him receive forgiveness of sins through His name."
Acts 13[:39], "And by Him all who believe are justified."
These words are understood in the same sense [1 Tim.
2:4], "God wills that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth." Acts 10[:34], "God is not a respecter of persons." Deut. 10[: 17], "God, who is pow erful and terrible, shows no partiality." And there are many such passages in different places. For since God is God, He treats all equally: He convicts us of sin, and yet He receives all who flee to the Son.
Thus, when it is said in John 6[:44], "No one comes to Me unless the Father draws him," there im mediately follow the words [v. 45], "Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me." God begins and draws us by His 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.
After we have established the fact that the prom ise is universal, we need also to understand that it is by grace that we are received, for the sake of the Son of God, and not because of our worthiness. We are all guilty, and, as Paul says, to use his word [Rom. 11:32],
"We are all imprisoned (conclusi sumus) under sin."
Furthermore, Paul often uses and carefully impresses on us the word "freely" (gratis). Thus he teaches us about the promise which was immediately given to our first parents, and he often emphasizes this and spreads
Moreover, although there have been many lengthy discussions, and despite the great mountain of arguments which have been piled up, it is necessary that we in true agony take refuge in this stronghold, namely, that we must judge concerning the will of God only on the basis of His express Word, and realize that the promise is universal and that the eternal and im mutable command of God is that we hear the Son and
assent to His promise. Therefore, we must obey this, and not let our minds wander off and sink into the dark ness by seeking an election outside the Word, and thus leave Christ and omit His command to cling to His prom ise. Rather, we must hold to things which are certain, and not doubt that God has truly revealed His will in His promise and truly stands by what He has promised.
The first comfort is that it is never asserted that we are elect except in the company of the called. Fur ther, they only are the called who hear, learn, and con fess the Gospel. This visible gathering is the church, in which it is necessary that there always be some who are elect and heirs of eternal life. Moreover, it is very beneficial-for the godly to know that the church of the elect is located in this visible assembly, so that we may know that we are all bound to the voice and ministry of the Gospel, and that election is nowhere else and that we are not to seek special revelations. Therefore, this passage commends to us that we be concerned about hearing and learning the Gospel, supporting the ministry and loving the fellowship of the church. The passage affirms that the elect are in this visible gathering.
The second comfort is that this passage admon ishes that we must not remove the call from the counsel of our election. God has chosen us because He has decreed to call us to the knowledge of His Son, and He wills to make known to the human race His will and His blessings. Therefore He gives approval to and elects those who are obedient to His call. Therefore we should pay attention to our calling and assent to the Gospel and not reject it, for through it God draws us and certainly receives and aids those who assent to it.
For it is said many times that God is efficacious through the Gospel. Therefore Augustine, although he is harsh in this disputation, yet in'a book on predestination and grace writes thus: "God aids those who accept with appropriate piety the gift of His call and [who], to the extent that it is in man's power, help preserve in them selves the gifts of God."
We must determine that the promise of grace is not some empty fable, but being built up by true faith we must seek His blessings and determine that those things which have been set forth in the promise have been prepared for us. This faith increases in our daily prayer, as it is written [Matt. 7:7], "Seek and you shall find." Likewise [Luke 11:13], "How much more will your heavenly Father give His Holy Spirit to those who ask
Him." He does not say "to those who despise Him" or "to those who reject Him," but to those who acknowl edge their misery and seek His help. Likewise [Matt.
25:29], "To him who has, it shall be given." Again [Ps.
68:28], "Strengthen, O God, what you have done in us." And Phil. 1 [:6], "He who has begun the good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ," that is, we must be aided by God, but it is necessary that we hear the Word of God and do not struggle against God when He draws us.
Thus the sweetest promise is given in Phil. 2[: 13], "It is God who works in you both that you will and that you do the things which are pleasing to Him." God draws our minds so that they are willing, but it is nec essary that we assent and not struggle against Him.
He promises that He will be with us so that the salvation which has been begun may be completed, so that there may be some good things among men which are pleas ing to Him, as though He were to say, "The devils and their instruments rush furiously about in the world to do things which are displeasing to God. They encourage the ravings of the Epicureans, idolatry, the oppression of the Gospel, unjust wars, unrestrained lusts, thieving, lying, and all things which arouse the wrath of God. But lest the entire human race be brought to destruction, some things had to be done which were pleasing to God. These things are performed by the godly in the church, such as the true worship of God, trust in Christ, the giving of thanks, the spreading of the Gospel, pa tience under the cross, righteousness toward our neigh bors, love of purity, truthfulness, peace, and other good works." And these good works are performed by those who ask, as it says [in Luke 11:13], "He will give His
Spirit to those who ask." In Eph. 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. Likewise, Rom.
8[:30], "Those whom He chose, He also called." This statement contains a sweet, salutary and manifold com fort, which is, however, ignored by the idle and emptyheaded.
The third comfort is the testimony that God is present with this visible company which has been called, and is efficacious in this called and visible com pany. For these words convince us of this [Rom. 8:30]:
"These whom He called, He also justified; those whom He justified, He also glorified." Therefore, the reader should note here that the doctrines of the church, of the presence of God in this visible church, and of the election and call must be joined together.
Therefore, we must 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.
Paul leads us to the Word when he says [in Rom. 10:6], "Do not say, 'Who will ascend into heaven?' " and do not let your mind wander with questions which seek
God's will outside His Word, but [v. 8], "The Word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart." Nor does the ninth chapter of Romans disagree with this teaching which I have enunciated, that it is correct for pious minds to understand this very sweet comfort in this way.
At that time the Jewish high priests condemned the apostles because of their hierachical orders and the law. So in our time, the popes and the others who de fend their errors because of their honorable titles and order of succession, as they call them, boast that they
are the true church of God, and they apply the promises to themselves and say that the church cannot err, and they condemn and kill others who cling to the purity of the Gospel, call them seditious, and wage war on the church. In the face of this notion concerning a neces sary order of succession, the doctrine and comfort of Romans 9 have been given to us.
Great is the darkness in the minds of men in their knowledge of God. Without this divine light, most men have either Epicurean or Stoic notions, that is, the great majority imagine that men are not of concern to God.
Others dream up the idea that God is sitting in heaven and writing unchangeable decrees on the tablets of the Fates (the Parcae), as it were, according to which He wills to distribute virtues and vices, just as the Stoics felt about the idea of Fate when they suggested that And a two-fold comfort is offered to us: We are taught what the true church is, namely, the gathering which believes in the Son of God, and we are instructed that this true church is not bound to an honorable title or the so-called ordained succession of the popes and their colleagues. In the second place, we are taught that the Law is not the cause of our election, but that Paris and others like him were moved by a fated or predestined force. But we must set aside these ravings which come forth from our human darkness, and turn our eyes and mind to the testimonies which have been given about God. We must understand that God is truly free and wills only good things, and that He does not will sins. And we must understand that He has ex pressly revealed Himself and this will by clear and great testimonies—by the resurrection of the dead and by other [miracles]—and that He has bound us to the Gos mercy is offered for the sake of the Son of God to all who cling to Him. And indeed, the text clearly says that the cause of reprobation is our stubborn rejection of the Son. Why did Israel, despite its eager "pursuing of the law of righteousness, not attain to the law of righ teousness" [Rom. 9:31]? "Because," says he [Paul],
"they did not seek it by faith, but, as it were, by the works of the law" [v. 32], that is, they were rejected because they were unwilling to hear the Son and assent to the promise. As a pretext, they used the fact that they were defending the righteousness of the law, be cause a relaxing of discipline seemed to take place, since it detracted glory from their works. pel, in which Christ says [Matt. 11:28], "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." In keeping with this promise He freely and truly receives those who take refuge in the Son, and He allows those who spurn the Son to rush headlong into His fearful wrath.
Therefore, we should not accuse Paul of these Stoic disputations which militate against faith and prayer. For how can Saul believe or pray if he doubts that the promise applies to him, or if he receives these tablets of the Fates—it has already been decreed that you have been rejected, that you are not written in the number of the elect, and so forth? In the face of these imaginings we must learn the will of God from the Gos pel and understand that the promise is universal, so that faith and prayer can develop.
Since they were caught up in this error, they op posed the Gospel. And the cause of their reprobation is in themselves, as it clearly says later in Rom. 10[:21 ],
"All day long I have stretched out My hands to a dis obedient and contrary people." Here God affirms that He offers His blessings to all, but in their contuma ciousness they do not receive them. And on the other hand, He says most comfortingly [Rom. 9:16], "It is not of him who wills nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy," that is, mercy is the cause of our elec tion, but it was necessary that this be revealed in the Word and that the Word be accepted. Therefore He expressly offers His universal [promise], and the same statement is made in both chapters [Rom. 9:33; 10:11],
"Everyone who believes in the Son shall not be con founded." Thus He wills that with His mercy there is also a concurrent taking hold of it by our acceptance of the promise.
In addition, we must cling to this comfort regard ing the effect of election: God wills that the entire human race not perish, and He always calls through mercy for the sake of His Son. He draws and gathers the church and receives those who assent, and thus always wills that His church, which He aids and saves, shall con tinue to exist, as Christ says [John 10:27-28], "My sheep here My voice, and I know them, and they follow
Me. I give them eternal life, and no one shall snatch them out of My hand." It is beneficial to know these things regarding the effect of our election, in order that we may be certain that we are heard and helped, and know that the church cannot be destroyed by the devil.
The verse "No one shall snatch them out of My hand" refers to a great conflict. 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."
Students should know that the Hebrew expres sion in these words, "I will harden the heart of Phar aoh," [in Exodus passim] signifies the promise "I will allow him to be hardened," as when in our daily prayer we pray, "Lead us not into temptation." And examples occur from time to time which testify that by this Hebrew expression permission2 is very often signified.
2 Some early editions of the Loci have "promise."
Locus 15 The Kingdom of Christ upon Him. Just as it is written elsewhere [Rom. 8:14],
"As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God." Again, [Jer. 31:33], "I will give My law into their hearts." These benefits are obscured when we look for a physical kingdom.
The Gospel clearly teaches that the kingdom of Christ is spiritual. Christ sits at the right hand of the Father and intercedes for us, and gives the Holy Spirit and the remission of sins to the church, that is, to those who believe in Him and call upon God with confidence in Him that He will sanctify them, so that He may raise them up on the last day to eternal glory. In order that we may obtain these benefits, the ministry of the Gospel has been established, and through this men are called to the knowledge of Christ. And the Holy Spirit is effi cacious through the Gospel. But meanwhile, before the last day, the church in this world suffers persecution, and there will be many evil men mixed in with the good in the church. This is the true and appropriate teaching of the church in regard to the kingdom of Christ and the Gospel. The Jewish error of the Anabaptists must
Rom. 8[:17], ". joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified to gether." Again, [Rom. 8:24], "We are saved in hope."
Again, [v. 29], Those whom He foreknew, them He also willed to be conformed to the image of His Son." Like wise, [v. 36], "For Your sake we are 'killed all the day long, we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter."
These statements testify that the glorification does not take place in this life, but that in this life we must endure afflictions and persecutions. Matt. 16[:24], "If anyone wishes to follow Me, let him take up his cross and follow
Me." John 16[:22], "In this world you shall have sor row." And 2 Tim. 3[:12], "All who wish to live piously in Christ shall endure persecution." These passages clearly show that the church in this life is subject to afflictions. Col. 3[:3—4], "Your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, appears, then you will also appear with Him in glory." 1 John 3[:2], "Now we are the sons of God, "but it is not yet clear what we be rejected and condemned. They have the notion that the church before the last day will be some kind of civil and worldly state in which the godly will rule, and by force of arms destroy all the ungodly and occupy all the empires of the world.
Therefore, let us gather testimonies not only for the refutation of these fanatic spirits but also because it is worthwhile to have these passages in mind so that we may comfort ourselves and arouse ourselves to spiritual exercises, for faith, for prayer, and for repen tance. For this Jewish error for several reasons has this problem attached to it: it obscures and totally destroys spiritual consolations and does away with spiritual ex ercises, because human minds look only for those new worlds to rule, and they forget spiritual things and are burdened with despair when that hoped-for life of lei sure about which they dream does not materialize. shall be like, but we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is."
This passage also teaches that the glory of Christ's kingdom is not a worldly empire, but a spiritual one.
When we have been raised up, we shall have new and eternal righteousness and life like the glory of the res urrected Christ.
Likewise, Paul clearly says that the Antichrist will rule until the last judgment, at which time Christ will come and destroy the kingdom of the Antichrist [cf. 2
Thessalonians 2], Therefore, the true church will not occupy an empire but will much more be tossed about in the greatest dangers and afflictions. And 2 Peter 3[:3] says that "in the last days scoffers will arise" clearly deriding religion. Therefore, there will be those who persecute the church. And Daniel clearly says [ch. 7] that the beasts, that is the empires, shall be cast into the fire when Christ appears for judgment. Therefore some empires shall endure until the last day. In John
20[:21], when Christ sends the apostles, He only gives them the command to teach, and He says, "As the Father sent Me, so I send you." Therefore, it is evident that Christ was sent for the ministry of the Gospel, not to occupy the kingdoms of the world, as He Himself also says [John 18:36], "My kingdom is not of this world." And He forbids the apostles to seize kingdoms when He says [Luke 22:25], "The kings of the Gentiles exercise dominion, but it is not so with you." Likewise
[Matt. 5:39], "But I command you that you not resist The Kingdom of Christ Is Spiritual John 17[:2], "You have given Him authority over all flesh that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is life eternal: that they may know You, the only true God; and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent." Here Christ testifies that His benefit and His kingdom are life eternal. And He defines what eternal life is, namely, not some earthly dominion, but the true and sincere knowledge of God and our
Lord Jesus Christ.
Rom. 8[:34], "Christ who is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us." Is. 11 [: 10], "A root of Jesse shall stand forth ... and the Gentiles will seek Him."
These passages describe the priesthood and kingdom of Christ. They testify that both are spiritual. Christ does not establish some government of this world, but is interceding with the Father for us, and reigns in such a way that He desires to be invoked, and to hear, sanc tify, and protect through the Holy Spirit those who call