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The Lutheran tradition emphasizes the Love of God as manifested through Jesus Christ.
The Lutheran tradition emphasizes the Love of God as manifested through Jesus Christ.
It is through Baptism that the Father claims us as His children and by Grace plants in us the seeds of Faith.
Such seeds need nourishment throughout our lives for we live in the world, (subject to sin) but are not of the world (for God has claimed us). Martin Luther aptly describes this condition of the Christian life as living as "simultaneously saint and sinner." God continually calls us to turn from sin as He feeds our Faith trough the confession and forgiveness of sins, preaching of the Law and Gospel and partaking of Christ's Body and Blood in the Holy Supper.
A Concise Overview of What We as Lutheran Christians Believe
A Concise Overview of What We as Lutheran Christians Believe
A full description of the Christian faith in the Lutheran tradition can be found in the writings of the Book of Concord and Augsburg Confessions.
- We confess the faith of the Nicene, Apostles' and Athanasian Creeds. Our doctrine is rooted in the Holy Scriptures, and is summed up in the 16th Century Lutheran Confessions contained in the Book of Concord.
- We believe that the Holy Bible tells us who the true God is and what he has done for us in Jesus Christ.
- We believe that the Bible contains the Law (which condemns sin) and the Gospel which gives us forgiveness and the promise of new life in Jesus Christ.
- We believe that we are saved not on account of our works or merits, but on account of what Jesus did for us on the cross.
- We believe that God accepts us because of our faith in Jesus, and the Holy Spirit gives us the gift of faith when we're baptized, when we hear God's Word proclaimed, and when we receive the Lord's Supper.
- We believe that good works naturally follow true faith in Christ, but we do not trust in them for our salvation. We trust the work of Jesus for us.
- Since God's grace is a free and unearned gift, we believe that infants should be baptized.
- We believe that Jesus' true living body and blood are really and truly in, with, and under the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper (or Mass, Eucharist, Holy Communion).
- We believe that ordained ministers of Word and Sacrament are necessary to the Church.
- We believe that the Church exists wherever God's people gather around the Word and Sacraments of God.
- We believe in both individual confession of sins (for those who desire it) and corporate confession.
- We believe that Christian liturgy should be in the language of the people and all God's people should participate in it.
- We love Mary and the saints, and we strive to follow their example in response to God's grace, but when we pray, we pray to God alone, through Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
- We believe in being good citizens and taking an active part in government and other worldly affairs for the sake of peace and prosperity. We pay taxes, hold political offices, and fight in just wars.
- We believe that we are called by God to live out the Christian life in our various callings: parenting, career, as employer, as employee, etc. All Christians are priests because we are all called to share God's Word and offer our lives in sacrificial love for the good of our neighbor.
- We believe that we are not a break away group or a sect, but part of the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church which was founded by Christ and will remain forever.
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