All Scripture, including the doctrine of election, is written for us, not to be driven to despair, but to have hope...

This eternal election or ordination of God to eternal life must not be considered in God's secret, mysterious counsel in a simple-minded way.  It is not as though election included nothing further, or nothing more belonged to it, or nothing more were to be considered in it, that that God foresaw who and how many were to be saved and who and how many were to be damned.  Nor should we think that He only held a sort of military muster, such as, "This one shall be saved, that one shall be damned; this one shall remain steadfast in faith to the end, that one shall not remain steadfast."

From this notion many get and imagine strange, dangerous, and deadly thoughts.  These cause and strengthen either self-confidence and lack of repentance or hopelessness and despair.  So people fall into troublesome thoughts, and say, "Before the foundation of the world was laid" (Ephesians 1:4), God has foreknown His elect to salvation.  And God's foreknowledge cannot fail or be hindered or changed by anyone.  In view of this, if I am elected to salvation, nothing can hurt me, even if I perform all sorts of shameful sins without repentance, have no regard for the Word and Sacraments, concern myself neither with repentance, faith, prayer, or godliness.  I will and must still be saved, because God's foreknowledge must come to pass. If, however, I am not foreknown, nothing helps me anyway, even though I busy myself with the Word, repent, believe, and so on.  For I cannot hinder or change God's foreknowledge."

In fact, even when godly hearts have repentance, faith, and good intentions to live by God's grace in a godly way, thoughts like these arise:  "If you are not foreknown from eternity to salvation, your every effort and entire labor is no help."  This happens especially when they see their weakness and the examples of those who have not persevered, but have fallen away again.

Against this false delusion and thought we should set up the following clear argument, which is sure and cannot fail:  All Scripture is inspired by God.  It is not for self-confidence and lack of repentance, but "for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16).  Also, everything in God's Word has been written for us, not so that we should be driven to despair by it, but so that "through the encouragement of Scriptures we might have hope" (Romans 15:4).  Therefore, there is no question that lack of repentance or despair should not in any way be caused or strengthened by the sound sense or right use of this teaching about God's eternal foreknowledge.  The Scriptures teach this doctrine only to direct us to the Word to encourage repentance and godliness, and to strengthen faith and assure us of our salvation.
~BOC, FSD, XI, 9-12

Election is a cause that gains, works, helps, and promotes our salvation and what belongs to it...

God's eternal election does not just foresee and foreknow the salvation of the elect.  From God's gracious will and pleasure in Christ Jesus, election is a cause that gains, works, helps, and promotes our salvation and what belongs to it.  Our salvation is so founded on it that "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18), as is written in John 10:28, "No one shall snatch [My sheep] out of My hand,"  And again, "as many as were appointed to eternal life believed" (Acts 13:48).
~BOC, FSD, XI, 8

The beginning and cause of evil is the wicked perverse will of the devil and of people, not God's foreknowledge...

God's foreknowledge foresees and foreknows what is evil, yet not in the sense that it is God's gracious will that evil should happen.  Everything that the perverse, wicked will of the devil and of people wants and desires to try and do, God sees and knows before it happens.  His foreknowledge sees its order also in wicked acts or works, since a time and measure is fixed by God for the evil that God does not will.  He limits how far it should go, how long it should last, and when and how He will hinder and punish it.  God the Lord rules over all of this so that it must flow to the glory of the divine name and to the salvation of His elect, and for that reason the godless must be astonished.

The beginning and cause of evil is not God's foreknowledge.  (For God does not create and do evil, neither does He help or promote it.)  The cause of this evil is the wicked, perverse will of the devil and of people, as it is written in Hosea 13:9, " He destroys you, O Israel, for you are against Me, against your helper."  Also, "For You are not a God who delights in wickedness" (Psalm 5:4).
~BOC, FSD, XI, 6-7

The distinction between God's eternal foreknowledge and the eternal election of His children to eternal salvation...

First, the distinction between God's eternal foreknowledge and the eternal election of His children to eternal salvation is to be made carefully.  Foreknowledge or prevision means that God sees and knows everything before it happens.  This is called God's foreknowledge, which extends over all creatures, good and bad.  In other words, He foresees and foreknows everything that is or will be, that is happening or will happen, whether it is good or bad.  For all things, whether they are past or future, are clear and present before God.  This is written in Matthew 10:29:

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?  And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.

You eyes saw my unformed substance; in Your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them. (Psalm 139:16)

I know your sitting down and your going out and coming in, and your raging against Me. (Isaiah 37:28)

God's eternal election, or predestination, means God's preordaining to salvation. It does not include both the godly and the wicked, but only God's children, who were elected and ordained to eternal life before the world's foundation was laid.  As Paul says in Ephesians 1:4-5, "He chose us in Him ... He predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ."
~BOC, FSD, XI, 4-5

Adiaphora are not to deny Christian freedom, replace true worship, or interfere with the preservation of the pure doctrine...

The article about Christian freedom is at stake here. The Holy Spirit, through the holy apostle’s mouth, sincerely told His Church to preserve this article, as we have just heard. As soon as Christian freedom is weakened and human traditions are forced on the Church with coercion, as though it were wrong and a sin to omit them, the way is already prepared for idolatry. In this way, human traditions are multiplied and regarded as a divine worship, not only equal to God’s ordinances, but even placed above them.

Furthermore, idolaters are confirmed in their idolatry by such yielding and conforming in outward things, where there has not previously been Christian unity in doctrine. On the other hand, true believers are grieved, offended, and weakened in their faith. Every Christian, for the sake of his soul’s welfare and salvation, is bound to avoid both of these, as it is written:

Woe to the world for temptations to sin! (Matthew 18:7)

But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. (Matthew 18:6)

But what Christ says is to be especially remembered:

So everyone who acknowledges Me before men, I also will acknowledge before My Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 10:32)

However, this has always and everywhere been the faith and confession about such matters, by the chief teachers of the Augsburg Confession. We are following in their footsteps and we intend to persevere in their confession by God’s grace.

~BOC, FSD, X, 15-18

Adiaphora that is compelled or commanded obscures pure doctrine and true worship...

We also believe, teach, and confess that at a time of confession, when the enemies of God's Word want to suppress the pure doctrine of the Holy Gospel, God's entire church, indeed, every single Christian, but especially the ministers of the Word, as the directors of the community of God [Latin:  God's church], is bound by God's Word to confess the doctrine freely and openly.  They are bound to confess every aspect of pure religion, not only in word, but also in works and actions.  In this case, even in adiaphora, they must not yield to the adversaries or permit these adiaphora to be forced on them by their enemies, whether by violence or cunning, to the detriment of the true worship of God and the introduction and sanctions of idolatry.  For it is written:

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1)

Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery—to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the Gospel might be preserved for you. (Galatians 2:4-5)

In this place Paul speaks about circumcision, which at that time had become an adiaphoron.  At other times circumcision was observed by Paul.  The false apostles pushed circumcision in order to establish their false doctrine that the works of the Law were necessary for righteousness and salvation.  They missed circumcision to confirm their error in people's minds.  Therefore, Paul says that he would not yield even for an hour, in order that the truth of the Gospel might continue unimpaired.

Paul yields and gives way to the weak concerning food and the observance of times or days.  But to the false apostles, who wanted to impose these on the conscience as necessary things, he will not yield even in matters that are adiaphora.  "Therefore let no one pass judgement on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath" (Colossians 2:16).  When Peter and Barnabas yielded somewhat in such an emergency, Paul openly rebuske them according to the truth of the Gospel as people who were not acting right in this matter.

This case is no longer a question about outward matters of indifference, which in their nature and essence are free. They cannot produce a command or prohibition that they must or must not be used.  The case presented by Paul is a question, in the first place, about the outstanding article of our Christian faith.  For the apostle testifies, "so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you" (Galatians 2:5).  The Gospel is obscured and perverted by such compulsion or command, because such adiaphora are publicly required for the approval of false doctrine, superstition, and idolatry, and for the suppression of pure doctrine and Christian liberty, or at least are abused for this purpose by the adversaries are and viewed this way.
~BOC, FSD, X, 10-14

Adiaphora are not worship of God, but can be used for good order, Christian discipline, and the Church's edification...

Regarding genuine adiaphora, or matters of indifference (as explained before), we believe, teach, and confess the following:  such ceremonies, in and of themselves, are not worship of God, nor any part of it.  They must be properly distinguished from ceremonies that are.  As it is written, "in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men" (Matthew 15:9).

We believe, teach, and confess that the community of God in every place and every time has, according to its circumstances, the good right, power, and authority to change and decrease or increase ceremonies that are truly adiaphora.  They should do this thoughtfully and without giving offense, in an orderly and appropriate way, whenever it is considered most profitable, most beneficial, and best for good order, Christian discipline, and the Church's edification.  Furthermore, we can yield and give in with a good conscience to the weak in faith in such outward adiaphora.  Paul teaches this in Romans 14 and proves it by his example.
~BOC, FSD, X, 8-9