Erasmus of Rotterdam was a Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, theologian, and public critic of Martin Luther. Thus, it is noted that Erasmus’ perspective on the freedom (or bondage) of the will comes from his humanist and enlightenment views. While Erasmus began as a follower of Luther and wrote reform papers alongside him, he became distressed when the reforms were taken “too far.” In order to distance himself from Luther, while still holding true to the reform efforts, Erasmus chose to write against some of Luther’s teachings on free will. Erasmus considered his writing to be “thoroughly irenic [in] spirit, with no intention of attacking Luther personally.” Luther’s general response to Erasmus’ claims are incendiary and ultimately assert that Erasmus himself is not a Christian if he believes what he wrote. Luther (in his glorious wit) writes that he “felt profoundly sorry for [Erasmus], defiling as [he was his] very elegant and ingenious style with such trash.” This conclusion is rightfully forceful, because Luther claims that the argument is a matter of salvation (as we will discuss further in this essay). Luther’s ultimate goal is to help his opponent and all people better understand the truth.
Luther begins his reply to Erasmus by stating the importance of doctrine. Religion is not a mere matter of opinion: God has revealed God’s truth through scripture, thus scripture defines the parameters for that which we can believe. Erasmus relies too much on human reason and not enough on what scripture so clearly states. One of the mottos of the Reformation is sola scriptura, so it follows that Luther defends the relevance and ultimate authority of scripture. Secondly, Luther focuses on Erasmus’ exegesis of scripture. Erasmus is focused on man-centered exegesis (humanism), while Luther is focused on a theocentric interpretation of scripture. Luther asserts that Erasmus lacks spirituality and the work of God, saying “Christianity as you describe it includes this among other things: that we should strive with all our might.... These words of yours, devoid of Christ, devoid of the Spirit, are colder than ice, so that they ever tarnish the beauty of your eloquence.” Erasmus is too wishy-washy or accommodating according to Luther. The doctrine of free will is not a matter to take lightly: “What I am after is to me something serious, necessary, and indeed eternal, something of such a kind and such importance that it ought to be asserted and defended to the death.” What we say about free will and salvation also says much about God. Salvation is at stake in this argument according to Luther.
If the thread of Luther’s argument on free will (or against it) follows through, there is a fine argument for universal salvation. If there is no human action required in the salvation of a human and it occurs only through God’s action, God who desires all of creation to be reconciled to Godself denies no one the Spirit and denies no one salvation. This issue of salvation is one that is alive and well today. If we consider the view of Erasmus, God is a God of picking and choosing arbitrarily and cruelly who is saved and who is “left out.” We believe in a God of mercy, a God who gave God’s only son to die on the cross to save us from eternal death and damnation. We believe in a theology of abundance: God has more and gives more than we could ever want or need. Salvation is not limited to those who are given the Spirit or those we choose to do good works. Salvation is given freely from God to all people. As such, we, who have already come to realize and understand God’s salvation, are called to extend that saving message to our brothers and sisters.
Free will, according to Luther, is not free will at all. There is no such thing. In the Fall, all of humanity fell under the power of satan. People had no ability to choose between good and evil - we were in bondage to sin. We could not be freed from this bondage by our own actions. Paul is very clear in stating that even the commandments set forth by God are not capable of bringing us into right relationship with God. Salvation comes not from anything we are able to do. We are completely fallen and unable to be redeemed without God’s action. God desires that all of creation be reconciled to Godself and according to Luther, that reconciliation is what happened in Christ’s death. After the life, death and resurrection of Christ Jesus, God’s people were freed from sin’s bondage. We are no longer bound to death and the devil. Therefore, in the triumph over death, sin, and the devil, all are redeemed through Christ’s faithfulness. All of creation is reconciled to God, justified and made in right relationship with God. If we believe in God who is faithful and merciful, one who extends salvific grace freely, we must understand God to extend that grace to all, not just those who accept God’s grace.
Luther argues, there is no choice between good and evil, but only the freedom to respond to God’s providence in all that we do. Therefore it is not a matter of if we are saved by God’s grace (we are), but what we do in response to it. There are people in this world that have not come to know God’s mercy and life-giving salvation yet. These people maybe have not heard the saving message, felt the freedom of grace, or their hearts have been hardened for unknown reasons. However, this does not contradict the fact that they (as all people) are already redeemed through the saving act of Christ Jesus. They have simply not come to know or understand their salvation. They will eventually (either in this life or in the next) come to know and understand God’s immense love for them. On the other hand, there are people who have come to know the good news of Christ and are able to live into (and in response to) God’s mercy and salvation in this life. People who know and believe in their salvation from Christ in this world are called to proclaim that salvation to all of creation. We have the privilege of sharing God’s salvific love and mercy with people who have already received it but have not yet realized it. We are enabled by the Holy Spirit to share the gospel and the Holy Spirit works in the hearts of people in order to bring them to realization.
A biblical example of this witness is the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. Although the eunuch was reading scripture before Philip arrived, it was not until the Spirit worked through Philip and he began to teach and help the eunuch understand that he was called to be baptized and called into the ministry of the Kingdom of God to proclaim the good news to the rest of the world. The Holy Spirit worked through someone who already knew the story in order to help another realize the redeeming love of God. It is in baptism that we are called into participation with the Holy Spirit and the Kingdom of God. Baptism is the outward, explicit example of God’s goodness and abundant mercy. It is a gift given by God so that we might come to know God’s work in our lives. Because we (those of us who know the grace of God) are called to participate in the Kingdom of God by sharing the good news of Christ Jesus so that others might participate in the Kingdom of God through the Holy Spirit.
This type of evangelism must keep in mind that people who know God’s goodness are no better or different than people who do not yet know God’s grace. All people are saved through God’s grace in Christ Jesus. All of creation is reconciled to Godself through God’s redeeming power. This means that evangelism is not about “saving souls” or “winning people for God.” God has already done the work of salvation. As Luther argues, human beings can do nothing to gain salvation, it is the action of God. Therefore, evangelism should be carried out only in order to invite people into participation with the Kingdom - without expectation and without condemnation. If evangelism was carried out in this way, the Church today would look much closer to the Kingdom of God: a loving, reconciling community of people who believe and trust in the saving work of God through Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
All of this is to say that if we follow Luther’s logic to the end (God’s grace and salvation come from God alone and not from any action on our part), we must recognize that all of creation is already redeemed through Christ Jesus. With this knowledge, we go out as humbled servants of the Lord to proclaim Christ to the world so that others may come to realize their own salvation and participate (out of freedom) in the Kingdom of God.
Sources:
Philip S. Watson (ed.), Luther’s Works vol. 33, “Career of the Reformer III”, The Bondage of the Will, (Fortress Press: Philadelphia, PA).
Carl R Braaten, Principles of Lutheran Theology, (Fortress Press: Minneapolis, MN).
The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Edited by Robert Kolb and Timothy J. Wengert. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2000. (Large Catechism).
Eric W. Gritsch and Robert W. Jenson, Lutheranism: The Theological Movement and Its Confessional Writings, (Fortress Press: Philadelphia, PA).
Dr. Daniel Bell, “Lecture 5C: Providence,” Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, 2014.
Acts 8:26-40
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