Luther vs Calvin?
Despite being two of the three spearheads of the Protestant Reformation (the third was Ulrich Zwingli), Martin Luther and John Calvin never personally met and only had one letter exchange. Furthermore, they were separated by geography (Calvin lived in France and Switzerland; Luther lived in Germany) and time (Calvin started towards the end of Luther's life).
While it is believed that some level of Calvin's views were influenced by Luther, it is debatable whether Luther would have concurred with Calvin. In this post, I would explore the TULIP of Calvin through the eyes of Luther.
Total Depravity
Both Luther and Calvin would agree on Total Depravity the most -- that human nature is corrupted and incapable of doing good unless transformed by Christ.
Luther adds on to state that while in creation humanity was not corrupt, original sin infected humanity to the extent that the humanity by nature and action is irredeemable.
Unconditional Election
This will be where Luther partially departs. While Luther would agree that God chooses to save individuals based on faith, he was not consistent whether people will be saved based on the faith given to those that believe, or foreseen faith based on faith shown by the repentant.
Limited Atonement
While Calvinists tend to believe that Christ died for the faithful, Luther believed that Christ died for all humanity. However, do note that Luther himself was not consistent on this, and his earlier works argued for that salvation was limited to the faithful.
Irresistible Grace
In the Bondage of Will, Luther denies that God forces people to convert. However, he also asserts that salvation was based on God's work alone.
In the Bondage of Will, Luther denies that God forces people to convert. However, he also asserts that salvation was based on God's work alone.
In other words, God's grace was resistible, but it was based on God's work alone.
Perseverance of Saints
This is where Luther clearly departs from Calvin the most.
To Luther, God will ensure the salvation of the elect, but not everyone who is born again is among God’s elect, Apostasy is possible. This counters Calvin's narrative where true apostasy is not possible.
Conclusion
While it may be tempting to call Luther a 2.5 to 3.5 of a 5-point Calvinist, one must bear in mind that a few caveats:
A) Luther and Calvin focused on different issues. Luther's focus was on the justification based on faith, while Calvin was more primed on understanding the sovereignty of God.
B) Their personalities were different. Luther spoke off the cuff a lot of the times. Our ideas of theology is based collection of his sayings (mainly by his follower Philip Melanchthon)
Calvin was quiet, reserved and collected. Calvin himself managed to write his thoughts down clearly in Institutes of Christian religion.
C) Luther was not explicitly asked to addressed TULIP. TULIP as a theological concept was formed in response to Jacob Arminius's views.
For reference:
