What Lutherans Believe
In the words of the classic Lutheran summary of faith, we believe that we are saved 'by grace, for Christ's sake, through faith'. In other words, there is nothing we can do to earn God's favour or to gain eternal life. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus Christ has won all this and more for us.
What Lutherans believe
We have created a video series called 'Presence', which explains the basics of what Lutherans believe.
We believe that God created the universe and everything in it, and that he created humans as the crown of creation and as moral beings for a life of worship and service to God (Isaiah 43:7, Psalm 100).
We believe that only the Bible is the source of inspiration and teaching. Lutherans worldwide also believe that the Lutheran Confessions, contained in the Book of Concord of 1580, are true expositions of the word of God. These documents are:
- the three ecumenical creeds (confessed by Christians around the world): the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed and the Athanasian Creed
- the Augsburg Confession
- the Apology of the Augsburg Confession
- the Smalcald Articles
- the Small Catechism of Luther
- the Large Catechism of Luther
- the Formula of Concord.