THE CROSS ALONE IS THEOLOGY

Luther articulated this conviction in the Heidelberg Disputation of 1518, and it has summed up Lutheran theology ever since.  To say “the cross alone is theology” is to say that the cross of Jesus Christ can alone liberate us from sin and bondage and give us God’s grace, forgiveness, and love as a free gift.  To speak of the cross, as the Apostle Paul did, is shorthand for expressing:

How we stand before God as fallen, sinful beings; and how Christ’s death freely supplies God’s blessings and forgiveness. 

LAW AND GOSPEL

Luther writes in his “Commentary on Romans” that the gospel is preaching of the incarnate Son of God, given to us without any merit on our part for salvation peace.  Gospel, therefore, is “a word of salvation, a word of grace, a word of comfort, a word of joy, a voice of the bridegroom and the bride, a good word, a word of peace.”  Life without the Gospel, however, is what Luther calls  “a word of law, a word of destruction, a word of wrath, a word of sadness, a word of grief, a voice of the judge and the defendant, a word of restlessness, a word of curse.”

GRACE

The means by which we receive the good news (God’s blessing, forgiveness, restoration, and reconciliation) is grace – the free, unconditional gift of God.  We are saved by grace alone – not by any amount of good that we might do: not prayer, not good works, not our efforts to be holy.  You might say that Jesus came precisely to save us from all of our good efforts.  Faith means abandoning our efforts and embracing his gift.  This is the meaning behind the phrase “justification by faith.”

LITURGY AND WORSHIP: Where Incarnation, Cross, and Word Come to Meet Us

At the heart of Lutheran worship is Luther’s conviction that in order for us to be saved, God has to come down to earth as a human being to meet us where we are.  The Incarnation means that we receive grace because Jesus meets us where we are.  Our worship in liturgy and sacrament is how we experience the reality of the Incarnation. 

In practical terms, this means that worship begins with confession and the promise of God’s absolution: in Christ, all our sin is forgiven.  Fortified by this promise, the liturgy moves to a focus on Jesus Christ the living Word, in both the written Word of Scripture and the proclaimed Word in preaching.  We then receive this same Word as He comes to us in his holy meal.

We use the historic liturgy dating back to the earliest Christian centuries because it is based solidly on Scripture, is premised on Apostolic worship that focused on preaching and Holy Communion, and has stood the test of time.

SACRAMENTS

Sacraments are often defined as “visible signs of grace”.  Just as Jesus was born a human, and thereby embodied grace – so water, bread, and wine become a means of grace for us when they are attached to the word of promise from Christ.  For Lutherans, both baptism and communion have a word of promise that brings us grace.

HOW LUTHERANS READ THE BIBLE

Luther wrote that the Bible is the manger wherein we find the Christ child.  The Bible, in other words, is what brings Christ and us together.  We read the Bible, therefore, in a special way.  We do not read it to learn facts or information.  We read it to discover how God’s grace, through Jesus Christ, can transform us into God’s children.  Scripture is where faith comes alive as we see the hope for the world that Christ brings.

LUTHERANS AND THE WORLD AROUND US

Precisely because Jesus came into this world to bring us grace – because God so loved the world – we of all people are optimistic and hopeful for what God will do for the sake of the world.  Because God loved us first, we are motivated by that same love to love all people, to share the good news with all people, to offer hope to this world, and to pray vigorously for the coming of God’s kingdom… when all evil, suffering, and injustice are done away with forever.