LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW - Brock University

32 LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW XV
for a more noble use. Gen. 13.11: “Lot evxele,xato - chose for himself the
region around the Jordan.” 59
He goes on to say that in reference to persons, it is used to refer to the
election of Christ as Redeemer by God from before the foundation of the
world, and to refer also to the election of persons as well: “It is used to refer
to the entire assembly of the church which God gathers for Himself through
His Word from all assemblies or peoples and has selected to be His peculiar
people … or it is used about true members of the church and who persevere
in Him until the end of life.” 60 Likewise he explains the word
proori,zw/proorismo,j, which means “to destine and to ordain for a definite
end so that at the same time the means leading to that end are defined.” 61
That is to say, when God predestines us to eternal life, he always brings this
about through the means of grace, that is, the Word and Sacraments. Thus
when this word, normally translated “predestination”, is used to refer to
persons, “it always signifies in Scripture their election to eternal life”. Here
again Gerhard rejects double predestination: “Some assert without written
proof that there is one predestination for life, another for death and the
causes of eternal death.” 62
Samuel Huber, the Swiss theologian, had put forth erroneous ideas
concerning predestination. Gerhard says, “In our time, the Swiss Samuel
Huber in 1592 began to teach and argue in favor of the universal election of
all people.” 63 This of course is patent nonsense, and Gerhard notes that this
idea was dealt with already in the Book of Concord. Huber’s teaching
continued to have influence, however, and Walther refers to him in his
Theses on Predestination of 1881.
Another false teaching was the notion of predestination intuitu fidei, “in
view of faith”. Gerhard, on the basis of Eph. 1:4; 3:17; I Tim. 1:16; II Thess.
2:13, and many other passages says,
We profess with a loud voice that we claim that God has found nothing good
in man in electing him for eternal life, that He has not considered good works
nor the use of free will nor even faith itself in such a way as to choose some
because of or on account of these impulses. We rather say that that is only
and solely the merit of Christ, whose worth God has respected and made His
decree of election purely out of grace. 64
59 Gerhard, para. 24.
60 Gerhard, para. 24.
61 Gerhard, para. 27.
62 Gerhard, para. 28. Gerhard rejects double predestination in Beza, Zanch, and Piscator in
para. 29. In para. 103 he rejects Calvin, who in the Institutes, Book 3, Chapter 23, Section 7,
says of double predestination, “I admit that it is a horrible decree.”
63 Gerhard, para. 201.
64 Gerhard, para. 161.