Biblical Studies/Christianity/Protestant churches/Lutheran
Lutheran teaching can be summarized with the three Reformation solas. Salvation is by God's grace alone (sola gratia) through faith alone (sola fide) for the sake of Jesus Christ's atoning death and without any merit on the part of those who are redeemed. The Bible alone (sola Scriptura) is the sole norm and basis of all Christian doctrine and anything which is contrary to what Scripture teaches is not in accordance with God's Will
Historically, Lutherans trace themselves to Martin Luther, who was the founder of the Protestant Reformation. In order to preserve the legacy and teaching of the Reformation, a group of pastors and theologians in Germany (where Luther lived) gathered together the three ecumenical creeds as well as the key works of Martin Luther and Philip Melanchthon into the Lutheran Confessions (also known as the Book of Concord). The Book of Concord is recognized as a faithful and true interpretation of the Bible and it is the symbol and body of doctrine for the Lutheran faith. Contained in the Book of Concord are the Nicene Creed, Apostles Creed, Athanasian Creed, the unaltered Augsburg Confession, the Apology to the Augsburg Confession, the Smalcald Articles, the Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope, Luther's Small Catechism, w:Luther's Large Catechism and the Formula of Concord, all of which describe the doctrine and faith of the Lutheran Church.
External references
[edit | edit source]- Book of Concord e-text
- Project Wittenberg, a repository of Public Domain and freely available Lutheranism related works