· Lutherans believe in one true God
Lutherans share the belief of all other Christians that the one true God has made himself known as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
· Lutherans believe that God loves all people
Lutherans believe that God loves every human being, even though none of us deserves his love.
· Lutherans believe in Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is God’s Son. Because he loves the world, God sent his Son, Jesus, to make things right between God and us. Jesus took the blame for the sins of all people. Jesus died for everybody. Jesus also broke the power of death by becoming alive again.
· Lutherans believe God’s forgiveness is a free gift
Because of Jesus, God has forgiven all sins of all people. God offers his forgiveness to everyone as a free gift. We don’t have to earn God’s forgiveness or pay for it. It is ours when we believe in Jesus as our Savior. God offers us his forgiveness in the good news about Jesus, and in baptism and Holy Communion.
· Lutherans believe what the Bible says
The Bible is the Word of God. Lutherans accept the Bible as the authority that decides what they are to believe and how they should live. Lutherans believe that the good news about Jesus is the key to the whole Bible.
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, entitled “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.
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.