Election is founded upon Christ's merit and God's gracious will...

The Holy Spirit dwells in the elect, who have become believers, as in His temple.  He is not idle in them, but moves God's children to obey God's commands.  Therefore, believers, too, should not be idle, much less resist the work of God's Spirit.  They should practice all Christian virtues, in all godliness, modesty, temperance, patience, and brotherly love; and they should give all diligence to make their calling and election sure.  They should do this so that the more they find the Spirit's power and strength within them, they may doubt their election less. For the Spirit bears witness to the elect that they are God's children.  Sometimes they fall into temptation so terribly that they imagine they can no longer perceive the power of God's indwelling Spirit, and so they say with David, "I had said in my alarm, 'I am cut off from Your sight'" (Psalm 31:22).  Yet they should, without regard to what they experience in themselves, again say with David the words immediately following (as is written in the same place), "But You heard the voice of my pleas for mercy when I cried to You for help."

Our election to eternal life is founded not on our godliness or virtue, but on Christ's merit alone and His Father's gracious will.  He cannot deny Himself, because His is unchangeable in will and essence.  Therefore, when His children depart from obedience and stubble, He has called them to repentance again through the Word, and the Holy Spirit wants by the Word to be effective in them for conversion.  When they turn to Him again in true repentance by a right faith, He will always show His old paternal heart to all who tremble at His Word and from their heart turn again to Him, as it is written:

If a man divorces his wife and she goes from him and becomes another man's wife, will he return to her?  Would not that land be greatly polluted?  You have played the whore with many lovers; [yet returned again to Me,] declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 3:1).
~BOC, FSD, XI 73-75

Rest in the mystery of Christ's dual nature that you might have the constant consolation of truth rather than the doubt of crafty reasoning...

Since in the Holy Scriptures Christ is called a mystery upon which all heretics dash their heads, we admonish all Christians not to arrogantly indulge their reason in crafty investigations about such mysteries.  With the beloved apostles, they should simply believe.  They should close the eyes of their reason and bring their understanding into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and rejoice without ceasing in the fact that our flesh and blood is placed so high at the right hand of God's majesty and almighty power.  In this way we will certainly find constant consolation in every difficulty and remain well guarded against deadly error.
~BOC, FSD, VIII, 96

The entire obedience of Christ's entire person is credited to us for righteousness...

Even if Christ had been conceived and born without sin by the Holy Spirit and had fulfilled all righteousness in His human nature alone, and yet had not been true and eternal God, this obedience and suffering of His human nature could not be credited to us for righteousness.  Also, if God's Son had not become man, the divine nature alone could not be our righteousness.  Therefore, we believe, teach, and confess that the entire obedience of Christ's entire person (which He has offered to the Father for us, even to His most humiliating death on the cross) is credited to us for righteousness.  For the human nature alone, without the divine, could not by obedience or suffering make satisfaction to eternal, almighty God for the sins of all the world.  However, the divinity alone, without the humanity, could not mediate between God and us.
~BOC, FSD, III, 56

Forgiveness comes through grace, without any work, merit, or worthiness of ours preceding, present, or following...

We believe, teach, and confess what our righteousness before God is this:  God forgives our sins out of pure grace, without any work, merit, or worthiness of ours preceding, present, or following.  He presents and credits to us the righteousness of Christ's obedience.  Because of this righteousness, we are received into grace by God and regarded as righteous.

We believe, teach, and confess that faith alone is the means and instrument through which we lay hold of Christ.  So in Christ we lay hold of that righteousness that benefits us before God, for whose sake this faith is credited to us for righteousness.

We believe, teach and confess that this faith is not a bare knowledge of Christ' history, but it is God's gift.  By this gift we come to the right knowledge of Christ as our Redeemer in the Word of the Gospel. And we trust in Him that for the sake of His obedience alone we have--by grace--the forgiveness of sins and are regarded as holy and righteous before God the Father and are eternally saved.
~BOC, FE, III, 4-6

The Holy Spirit brings to us the treasures of forgiveness, sonship, and inheritance of eternal life...

We unanimously believe, teach, and confess the following about the righteousness of faith before God, in accordance with the comprehensive summary of our faith and confession presented above.  A poor sinful person is justified before God, that is, absolved and declared free and exempt from all his sins and from the sentence of well-deserved condemnation, and is adopted into sonship and inheritance of eternal life, without any preceding, present, or subsequent works, out of pure grace, because of the sole merit, complete obedience, bitter suffering, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ alone. His obedience is credited to us for righteousness.

These treasures are brought to us by the Holy Spirit in the promise of the Holy Gospel.  Faith alone is the only means through which we lay hold on, accept, apply, and take them for ourselves.  This faith is God's gift, by which we truly learn to know Christ, our Redeemer, in the Word of the Gospel and trust in Him.  We trust that for the sake of His obedience alone we have the forgiveness of sins by grace, are regarded as godly and righteousness by God the Father, and are eternally saved.
~BOC, FSD, III, 9-11

The worship and divine service of the Gospel is to receive gifts from God...

But because Christ's righteousness is given to us through faith, faith is righteousness credited to us.  In other words, it is that by which we are made acceptable to God on account of the credit and ordinance of God, as Paul says, "Faith is counted as righteousness" (Romans 4:3,5).  Although, because certain hard-to-please people, we must say technically:  Faith is truly righteousness, because it is obedience to the Gospel.  For it is clear that obedience to the command of a superior is truly a kind of distributive justice.  This obedience to the Gospel is credited for righteousness. So, only become of this--because we grasp Christ as the Atoning Sacrifice--are good works, or obedience to the Law, pleasing.  We do not satisfy the Law, but for Christ's sake this is forgiven us, as Paul says, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). This faith gives God the honor, give God that which is His own.  By receiving the promises of God, it obeys Him.  Just as Paul also says, "No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God" (Romans 4:20).  So the worship and divine service of the Gospel is to receive gifts from God.  On the contrary, the worship of the Law is to offer and present our gifts to God.  However, we can offer nothing to God unless we have first been reconciled and born again. This passage, too, brings the greatest comfort, as the chief worship of the Gospel is to desire to receive the forgiveness of sins, grace, and righteousness.
~BOC, AP, V (III), 186-189

Christ's obedience is credited to us for righteousness...

Therefore, the righteousness that is credited to faith or to the believer out of pure Grace is Christ's obedience, suffering, and resurrection, since He has made satisfaction for us to the Law and paid for our sins.  Christ is not man alone, but God and man in one undivided person,  Therefore, He was hardly subject to the Law (because He was Lord of the Law), just as He didn't have to suffer and die for His own sake.  For this reason, then, His obedience (nor only in His suffering and dying, but also because He was voluntarily made under the Law in our place and fulfilled the Law by this obedience) is credited to us for righteousness. So, because of this complete obedience, which He rendered to His heavenly Father for us by doing and suffering and in living and dying, God forgives our sins.  He regards us as godly and righteous, and He eternally saves us.  This righteousness is brought to us by the Holy Spirit through the Gospel and in the Sacraments. It is applied, taken, and received through faith.  Therefore, believers have reconciliation with God, forgiveness of sins, God's grace, sonship, and are heirs of eternal life.
~BOC, FSD, III, 14-16

Faith relies not on our contrition, love, or other virtues...

In the same way, also, in justification before God, faith relies neither on contrition nor on love or other virtues. Faith relies on Christ alone and on His complete obedience by which He has fulfilled the Law for us. This obedience is credited to believers for righteousness.
~BOC, FSD, III, 30