What We Believe
Our Faith
|
|
We believe in one God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We proclaim Christ, crucified and risen. We believe that human beings are made right with God by grace alone, which we receive through faith and for Christ's sake.
The Scriptures are the source and norm of our faith, which is further described by the Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.
It may be helpful to think of Lutheranism not as a "church" so much as a movement within the Church. We embrace the universal traditions of Christianity, and find in them the singular message of salvation. People raised in other traditions -- both Protestant and Catholic -- often find in Lutheranism a familiar message.
|
|
The Lutheran Family of Churches
|
Lutherans and Other Christians
|
|
 The great reformer, Martin Luther, did not want the churches and ideas he inspired to be named after him. He and his companions in ministry called themselves "Evangelicals," to indicate their commitment to the message of the Gospel. That is still the name by which they are known in many nations and languages. As a matter of convenience, the name "Lutheran" has also come to be used.
Today, there are Lutheran communities all over the world. We are not united by a single church structure or by our worship. We have great freedom in these matters. We are united by our commitment to the message of grace, faith and Christ.
To further our mission, Lutherans work together through the Lutheran World Federation, as well as through direct partnerships between regional church bodies. The English Ministry is such a partnership, between Lutherans in Romania and the United States. |
Lutherans are committed to the unity of the whole Christian Church.
Both in Europe and North America, Lutherans have established "full communion relationships" with the principal Anglican and Reformed churches. This means that we recognize in one another the true preaching of the Gospel and administration of the sacraments, that we welcome members of these churches as members of our own, and even that, under certain circumstances, we can share clergy with one another.
Lutherans and Roman Catholics have one of the longest-standing ecumenical dialogues of the modern age, and in 1999 signed the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justication. Together, we confess that by grace alone, through Christ's saving work and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while equiping and calling us to good works. (Methodists have since joined Lutherans and Roman Catholics in making this affirmation.)
Lutherans are leaders in the ongoing conversation among Christian communities worldwide. We are in dialogue with the Orthodox, Methodist, and many other church bodies.
|
