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…
So last week, we finished talking about Martin Luther. Hopefully it gave you a little window into who the man was. So now, we’re going to transition into what Lutherans actually teach. “But John,” you may be asking. “Is there a place where we can find all of what Luther…
So a few weeks back, I saw a comic from a Christian cartoonist who goes by Adam4D that caused me to chuckle just a little. Then cringe. Then nod sagely. What caused such a range of reactions from me? This right here: Okay, so it’s a bit extreme. I’m assuming…
Martin Luther probably would have been fine with just teaching and preaching God’s Word, continuing to explain the Gospel as he understood it, but he couldn’t really rest. And the reason why is because trouble was brewing for the Holy Roman Empire. A threat was looming on the horizon, and…
When last we left Martin Luther, he was leaving the city of Worms in an attempt to get home before Emperor Charles V could have him arrested or worse. But on the way back to Wittenberg, Luther was accosted in the middle of the night and carried off. His friends…
Last week, we talked about Luther’s 95 Theses, and how they were intended only to start a scholarly debate over the efficacy of indulgences. I shared my belief that Luther wasn’t trying to start any trouble. He simply wanted to have a scholarly discussion about a theological point. Regardless of…