Lutherans are Christians who accept the teachings of Martin Luther (1483 – 1546). Luther was a German theologian who realized that there were significant differences between what he read in the Bible and the practices of the Roman Catholic Church at that time. On October 31, 1517, he posted a challenge on the door of the Castle Church at Wittenberg, Germany, titled “95 Theses” (to debate 95 theological issues). His hope was that the church would reform its practice and preaching to be more consistent with the Word of God as contained in the Bible. What started as an academic debate escalated into a distinct separation between the Roman Catholic Church of the time and those who accepted Luther’s suggested reforms. "Lutheran" became the name of the group that agreed with Luther’s convictions.
Today, nearly five centuries later, Lutherans still celebrate the Reformation on October 31 and still hold to the basic principles of Luther’s theological teachings, such as Grace alone, faith alone, Scripture alone. These comprise the very essence of Lutheranism:
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Our salvation is through faith alone – our faith comes from God, and we only need to trust God made known in Christ who promises us forgiveness, life, and salvation; and
More about Lutheran beliefs
About the Lutheran Church - ELCA
More about Lutheran beliefs
Lutherans are evangelical. The word evangelical means good news. At the heart of Lutheranism is the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ. Lutherans believe that God gives us His grace freely and abundantly through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
Lutherans are ecumenical. The word ecumenical means worldwide or universal. In the Apostles Creed, we profess that we believe in the “one, holy, catholic and apostolic church.” The Church of Jesus Christ transcends borders and history. We are connected to believers in Jesus Christ of every time and place. We are always looking for ways to share ministry with other brothers and sisters of the Christian faith. We emphasize that we are Christians first and Lutherans second.
Lutherans are biblical. We believe that Scripture is the divine and revealed Word of God. We trust the Holy Spirit to make Scripture come alive in our daily lives. We believe that Scripture is the norm for our faith and life. Scripture points the way toward life and love through our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Lutherans are liturgical. Our worship services follow the historic worship patterns dating back to the earliest worship practices of the Hebrew faith in Old Testament times. They continue to follow the practices of Western Christianity. When we worship together we know that we can count on certain features of worship to be a part of our services—confession and forgiveness, God’s written Word read and proclaimed in sermon, hymns of praise, prayers, the sharing of God’s peace, and the Sacrament of Holy Communion.
Lutherans live in the priesthood of all believers. Since we are baptized in Christ Jesus, we belong to Him and to each other in the body of Christ. We speak the Gospel of forgiveness to each other. We use our spiritual gifts to build up the body of Christ as well as our tithes and offerings. We are together in the body of Christ and do not believe that we are spiritually or morally superior to other Christians.
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About the Lutheran Church - ELCA
Over the years, different Lutheran church bodies have been established and organized to meet the needs of Lutherans in communities and nations all over the world. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is the largest Lutheran group in North America, founded in 1988 when three North American Lutheran church bodies united: The American Lutheran Church, the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches and the Lutheran Church in America. Learn more about the History of the ELCA.
Lutherans are part of a reforming movement within the whole Christian church; as a part of practicing their faith, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and its predecessors have engaged in ecumenical dialogue with other church bodies for decades. In fact, the ELCA has entered into cooperative "full communion" agreements (sharing common convictions about theology, mission and worship) with several other Protestant denominations, including
- the Moravian Church
- The Episcopal Church
- the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
- the Reformed Church in America
- the United Church of Christ
- the United Methodist Church
The ELCA has an ongoing dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church, and in 1999, representatives of the Lutheran World Federation and the Roman Catholic Church signed the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification. This represented a historic consensus on key issues of faith and called for further dialogue and study together.
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