You err in assuming that Luther and the Lutheran confessions are the same thing. How can you reconcile free will (the official "Lutheran" position) with Luther's The Bondage of the Will?

Luther's theology morphed a bit at the hands of Melancthon who outlived him by almost 15 years (1546 vs. 1560). Also, you can detect strains between the two reformers in that the Augsburg Confession was Melancthon's authorship and his apology for it shows some of his differences from Luther.

Luther, who normally could become intractable over small disagreements (cf. his shouting "hoc est corpus meum" at Zwingli over and over) had a real soft spot for the little guy. Once he explained the difference between them this way: He saw himself as the plow that roughly turns over the hardscrap ground; Melancthon is the patient farmer who plants, tends, and harvests the crop.

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Dennis E. McFadden, Ex Mainline Baptist (in Remission)
Atherton Baptist Homes, CEO
First Baptist Church of Alhambra, Member, Transformation Ministries (CA)

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