Henry Imler October 11th, 2006

Why did Luther find the bondage of the will to be a comfort? The short answer is that it allowed him to be incredibly abrasive to his opponents and get away with it. The long answer is that it, along with the rest of his metaphysics, allowed him to be sure in his salvation. Luther seems to hold that we, as humans are completely enslaved to sin. He writes that “free-will without grace is not free at all, but is the permanent prisoner and bondslave of evil, since it cannot turn itself to good .” Therefore, for Luther, in order for a will to be truly free, it must be able to always choose the good. Thus the “ineffective power” of the will to choose good renders it as “no power ”. The only way for the will to choose God is by the grace of God enabling. It is evident that only some men choose to seek God, therefore God predestines some to receive this enabling grace and must therefore also choose to not give it to the others. These special individuals that receive grace are called the elect. Luther places an extremely high value on the will of God. For Luther whatever God wills comes to pass. God does not suspend his will for the sake of others like Denck suggested. When God wills that the elect receive grace and are saved, this willing cannot be altered or changed by anyone, even God, because it would be outside of His nature. So, in the realization of the bondage of the will to sin and to God, Luther can be comforted that his salvation is not in jeopardy by any sins he might commit, such as the sins of the false dichotomy and of the straw man.

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