Something from ... Luther's "The Bondage of the Will" (Entry #6)

INTRODUCTORY NOTES:  During the life of Martin Luther, Dutch scholar Desiderius Erasmus, was urged by Roman Catholic Church leaders to challenge Luther’s teachings and to condemn him.  Although Erasmus would rather have kept the peace in the Church, Erasmus was finally goaded into attacking Luther.  Erasmus intended to defend the official Roman Catholic teaching that God’s grace was needed to do the works by which man could then merit additional grace.  Luther’s response to Erasmus is known as The Bondage of the Will (De Servo Arbitrio).  Although Luther had published a myriad of writings in his career, he did not consider them worth preserving.  Luther regarded The Bondage of the Will as a rare exception to that rule.  In it, Luther writes at length that “free will” in spiritual matters is a lie, and that, if man actually has free will, then God loses such attributes as grace, omnipotence, and even his right to be God.

            The quotations from Luther in this blog post come from The Bondage of the Will translated by J. I. Packer and O. R. Johnston, Baker Academic: Grand Rapids, MI. © 1957.

            The following are thoughts concerning Luther’s arguments, urging us to LET GOD BE GOD.  Something from Luther’s The Bondage of the Will.

Let God be omnipotent.

           One of the attributes of God which causes great difficulty for us is God's omnipotence.  Sometimes we get excited about it, like when we cheer God on who destroys the enemies of his people.  And perhaps our excitement in that betrays the idea that God will do the same for us (i.e., wipe out for us those we perceive to be our enemies).  Or worse, we may even think we can harness God's omnipotence for our own use.  But this thrill about God's omnipotence says more about us (i.e., that WE will overcome our enemies) than it does about God (i.e., that he upholds his promises).
            God's omnipotence is not only seen in miraculous signs or in maintaining the planets in their orbit and the storms on the earth.  God's omnipotence is also seen in that, as God foreknows the future and wills certain outcomes, they will be done.  No one can prevent this.  God is omnipotent--unbound in his decisions, unstoppable in his plans, and unaccountable to anyone.  Perhaps this part of God's omnipotence makes us especially fearful of him.  But the very nature of omnipotence is that God can do whatever he wants.  
            The good news in regard to God's omnipotence is this: When God makes a promise, he keeps it.  God's promises are not God telling us what he would like to do if everything works according to plan.  (Luther uses the word "contingently" for that.)  God makes the promise.  There is no "if" in his promises.  God brings the plan about.  And since God is omnipotent, there is nothing that can stop God from carrying that plan out. (Luther uses the words "necessarily and immutably" for that.)  
            To make this very personal for us, Jesus promises this: "This is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.  For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:39-40)  If Jesus is not omnipotent, what makes us think he can keep us in the faith or can raise up the dead on the Last Day?  How could he even make such a promise?  And if he is not omnipotent, why should we believe it will happen?
            Luther declares the blessing and comfort we receive from God being omnipotent.  We can take him at his word.  While our will is corrupt, God's will is perfect.  While our will is bound by sin, God's will is free to act and to save.  What comfort that God freely acts to save sinners!  We have his promises to sustain us, and we have God's omnipotence to trust that he will do just as he says.  Here are Luther's words:
            “For 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?  When He makes promises, you ought to be out of doubt that He knows, and can and will perform, what He promises; otherwise, you will be accounting Him neither true nor faithful, which is unbelief, and the height of irreverence, and a denial of the most high God!  And how can you be thus sure and certain, unless you know that certainly, infallibly, immutably and necessarily, He knows, wills and will perform what He promises?  Not only should be we sure that God wills, and will execute His will, necessarily and immutably; we should glory in the fact....
            … “For the Christians 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.” (pages 83-84)