EBOOK Evangelical Free Will:Phillipp Melanchthon's Doctrinal Journey on the Origins of Faith

If one is saved by faith alone in Jesus Christ, then what is the origin of that        faith? Is it a preordained gift of God to elect individuals, or is some measure of        human free choice involved?The debate over the relation between election and free        will has a central place in the study of Reformation theology. Phillipp        Melanchthon's reputation as the intellectual founder of Lutheranism has tended to        obscure the differences between the mature doctrinal positions of Melanchthon and        Martin Luther on this key issue. Gregory Graybill charts the progression of        Melanchthon's position on free will and divine predestination as he shifts from        agreement to an important innovation upon Luther'sthought.Initially Melanchthon        concurred with Luther that the human will is completely bound by sin, and that the        choice of faith can flow only from God's unilateral grace. Over time, this        understanding caused Melanchthon increasing concern. The problem of its eternal        implications for those whom God has not chosen, and its pastoral implications for        believers, combined with Melanchthon's own intellectual aversion to paradox and        prompted him to continue developing his ideas.Melanchthon came to believe that the        human will does play a key role in the origins of a saving faith in Jesus Christ.          This was not the Roman Catholic free will of Erasmus, rather it was belief in a        limited free will tied to justification by faith alone; an evangelical free        will.