This week, we’re going to move on from baptism to talk about the other Lutheran Sacrament, namely that of Holy Communion. Remember, Lutherans consider something a sacrament if it has the following three things: God says, “Do this.” God says, “When you do this, you will receive the forgiveness of…
Lutherans are inveterate paedobaptists. Okay, that’s a mouthful. Basically, it means we baptize babies. Always have and, so far as I can tell, we always will. And here’s the reason why: as we’ve seen over the past several weeks, we have a slightly different understanding of how a Christian comes…
Last week, I talked about the Lutheran definition of a sacrament. Just so we’re all on the same page, the “recipe” is as follows: God says “Do this.” God says, “In doing this, you will receive forgiveness.” We use a physical object (or element) in connection with this action or…
If I had to pick one thing that set Lutherans apart from other Christians, it’d probably be our understanding of the Sacraments. So let’s start with a definition. To Lutherans, a sacrament is a sacred act, instituted by God, in which God Himself has joined His Word of promise to…
So I’ll be honest. I wasn’t sure if I should include this entry or not. See, here’s the thing: I’ve been raised in a Lutheran bubble. My dad was a pastor and his dad was a pastor too. I attended my dad’s church all throughout my childhood and youth. When…
After a lengthy side-trip into the Lutheran understanding of conversion, we’re wrapping up the three solas by talking about the last one, namely sola Scriptura. That’s a fancy way of saying that Lutheran beliefs are based on Scripture alone. For us, what’s contained in God’s Word is the final authority…
Last week, I shared how Lutherans don’t buy into the whole “make a choice for Jesus” rhetoric that we hear in other Christian traditions. We believe in something called “the bondage of the will,” meaning that we believe that, in an unsaved individual, sin makes it impossible for us to…
I bet some of my non-Lutheran readers are maybe bristling a little at some of the stuff I’ve written in that last two weeks. One of the things that sets Lutherans apart from other Christians is our staunch belief that we are saved by grace alone, that there is literally…
Last week, we talked about how, for Lutherans, grace is foundational for everything. Grace is what saves us, not anything that I do. There’s nothing that I can contribute to my salvation. It’s all completely up to God, something that He accomplishes because of His grace. I brought up the…
One of the symbols you may have seen during this series is the Luther Rose: The meaning of the rose itself is pretty cool, but I wanted to focus on the three phrases that are wrapped around it. These are the three solas of the Reformation, the foundation upon which…