Walther's Works: Predestination

In the early years of the LCMS—the late 1800s—the issue of predestination was debated extensively. Still today, predestination remains a confusing and often misunderstood concept: Does God predestine some to salvation and others to damnation?

C. F. W. Walther believed that the doctrine of predestination was meant to be a great comfort to the children of God. He held fast that predestination was intricately related to other doctrines such as faith, justification, conversion, and the Means of Grace, and it was key for the Christian confession of the work of Christ and the Holy Spirit on behalf of sinners.

Any christian will appreciate Walther’s commentary on this tricky subject, helping them answer the same question Lutheran theologians debated in the 1800s and still discuss today.

Table of Contents

1. Dogmatic History of the Teaching on the Relation of Faith to Election
   Translated by Nathaniel Jensen
2. Proceedings of the General Pastoral Conference of the Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States on the Doctrine of Election
   Translated by Ed Suelflow
3. Thirteen Theses on Election
   Adopted 1881 by the Missouri Synod
4. Proceedings of the Second General Pastoral Conference of the Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States on the Doctrine of Election
   Translated by Nathaniel Jensen
5. Review of Prof. Stellhorn’s Tract on the Controversy Concerning Predestination
   Translated by August Crull
6. The Controversy Concerning Predestination
   Translated by August Crull
7. The Doctrine Concerning Election
   Translated by J. Humberger
8. Sermon on Predestination
   Translated by Henry J. Eggold

Praise for Walther’s Works: Predestination

“This work is a must-have for Lutheran theologians of every stripe and also for everyone interested in the history of nineteenth-century American Lutheranism.”
— Rev. Dr. Christian C. Tiews, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, Okmulgee, Oklahoma; translator of Walther’s Law and Gospel and Pastoral Theology

“These essays demonstrate the brilliance of Walther as a theologian, his refusal to compromise doctrine, and his absolute loyalty to God’s Word. They will be very helpful to anyone attempting to explain or defend the Lutheran doctrine of election today.”
—Rev. Martin R. Noland, PhD, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church, San Mateo, California

“Thanks be to God for Walther, who knew that predestination was meant to comfort the saints.”
—Rev. Alfonso Espinosa, PhD, author of Faith That Sees through the Culture and “C. F. W. Walther on Sanctification” in C. F. W. Walther: Churchman and Theologian