His broader point, following Augustine, was that salvation is wholly a matter of God’s grace and cannot be influenced by any effort to win God’s favor, whether through good works or the performance of rites. We can no more pray our way to heaven than buy our way in. For Luther, election is a gift that is entirely unearned. Seeking to improve our chances by taking communion or attending Mass or otherwise trying to persuade God of our merit is presumptuous to the point of blasphemy.11
