God's will and human responsibility mysteriously held together
Lutheran theology approaches Romans 9:18-21 with careful distinction between God's secret will (Deus absconditus) and God's revealed will (Deus revelatus). Luther argued that Paul presents God's sovereignty in salvation while maintaining genuine human responsibility. The Formula of Concord teaches that while God elects believers to salvation, human resistance to God's Word and grace is the cause of damnation, not God's foreordination.
Lutheran theology affirms that God is absolutely sovereign and creates all things, but it maintains the mystery that God's predestination and human free choice coexist. The resolution is not systematic but rather recognizes that God's eternal counsel and human temporal decision are both real, held together in the divine nature without contradiction in the mind of God.
Key Distinctions
- Divine sovereignty:
- both divine sovereignty and human responsibility affirmed as true
- Human freedom:
- human resistance to grace causes condemnation, not God's decree
- Election type:
Scripture References
Sources
- Formula of Concord, Epitome Article XI (1577)
- Luther's Commentary on Romans 9
- Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article XI