Luther thus radicalized the incongruity of grace and combined it with a presumption toward noncircularity: God’s grace does not necessitate or demand a return. This is a powerful combination of perfections, which has long influenced Protestant thought. Lutheran polemics have insisted that this is the only proper meaning of grace, and of salvation “by grace alone.” But as this brief survey has shown, it is not the only way one can think about grace.
Luther’s view was very impactful on the west
