Term
Article 1:
Concerning God |
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Definition
The Lutheran Church affirms the teaching of the Council of Nicea regarding the three persons of the Trinity as being one in unity, "coeternal and of the same essence and power."
Likewise, the Lutheran Church rejects any heresies which dispute the above definition of the Trinity as one God in three persons. |
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Article 2:
Concerning Original Sin |
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Definition
The Lutheran Church teaches that all are born into original sin, the result of the fall of Adam and Eve. From birth all people are full of sinful acts and feelings and therefore cannot truly love and have faith in God. This sin, unremedied by baptism and the Holy Spirit, leads only to death.
Likewise, the Lutheran Church rejects the heresy that does not recognize original sin as sin and believe that people can justify themselves before God by their own actions and through reason. |
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Term
Article 3:
Concerning the Son of God |
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Definition
The Lutheran Church holds that Jesus Christ, born of the Holy Spirit and the woman Mary, was both entirely divine and entirely human, inseparably entwined in the same person. The events of Jesus' life described in Article 2 of the Apostles' Creed are confirmed. Jesus will send the Holy Spirit behind him to comfort, protect, and defend those who believe in him.
Likewise, the Lutheran Church rejects all heresies that conflict with this article of faith. |
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Article 4:
Concerning Justification |
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Definition
| The Lutheran Church teaches that humanity cannot be justified before God because of anything we have done, said, or thought. Justification is a gift of faith we receive from and through him when we believe that Christ's suffering for us really does save us. |
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Article 5:
Concerning Ministry in the Church |
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Definition
The Lutheran Church established the office of teaching the gospel and administering the sacraments to help lead us to this faith in Christ, as the Holy Spirit is present in both Word and Sacrament and we "receive the promise of the Spirit through faith."
Likewise, the Lutheran Church rejects the heresy that we can receive the Holy Spirit without the Word and through our own works. |
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Term
Article 6:
Concerning the New Obedience |
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Definition
| The Lutheran Church teaches that good works grow from faith in God, but they do not bring salvation themselves, as this can only come through Christ. |
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Term
Article 7:
Concerning the Church |
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Definition
| The Lutheran Church is the permanent body of Christ on earth, formed by the gathering of all believers to hear the gospel proclaimed and to receive the sacraments. Beyond the pure teaching of the gospel and the pure administration of the sacraments according to the gospel, there need not be uniformity of rites and services, for these are institutions of man, not God. |
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Article 8:
What is the Church?
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Definition
The Lutheran Church is the assembly of those who truly believe in Christ Jesus. However, because our world is sinful, not all of those who attend are actual believers. Not even all who preach and administer the sacraments are pure! But the value of the sacraments does not depend on the purity of the one who administers it, but on the purity of the one who gave it in the first place--Jesus Christ.
Likewise, the Lutheran Church rejects the heresy that God cannot use the acts of sinful people for good. |
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Term
Article 9:
Concerning Baptism |
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Definition
The Lutheran Church teaches that baptism is necessary for salvation, that grace comes through baptism, and that children in particular should be baptized.
Likewise, the Lutheran Church rejects the heresy that says children are saved without baptism. |
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Term
Article 10:
Concerning the Lord's Supper |
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Definition
The Lutheran Church teaches that the body and blood of Christ are truly present in the bread and wine and that they are what is distributed to the people.
Likewise, the Lutheran Church rejects any heresies that deny this truth. |
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Term
Article 11:
Concerning Confession |
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Definition
| The Church teaches that private confession should remain an accepted practice, but cautions that no one can possibly know all of their sins and should not attempt an exhaustive list, but trust that God knows and will forgive all sins, known and unknown. |
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Article 12:
Concerning Repentance |
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Definition
The Lutheran Church teaches that those who sin after baptism may be forgiven when brought to repentence through two means: contrition, which comes from the conscience, and faith, which comes from the gospel. Christ forgives sin, and the relief of the soul from absolution should bring the Christian to do good works in his name.
Likewise, the Lutheran Church rejects the heresies that deny baptized persons can lose the Holy Spirit and that some people can, through their own efforts, achieve a sinless life. It also rejects the arguments that those who sin cannot be forgiven and that people can earn forgiveness without faith but through their own actions. The heresy of indulgences is also rejected. |
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Term
Article 13:
Concerning the Use of Sacraments |
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Definition
The Lutheran Church teaches that the sacraments not only demonstrate who is a Christian, but more importantly, are gifts from God that serve to strengthen our faith and must always be used for that purpose.
Likewise, the Lutheran Church rejects the heresy that it is the action of the officiant which makes the sacrament work instead of the faith that comes with forgiveness of sins. |
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Term
Article 14:
Concerning Church Order |
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Definition
| The Lutheran Church teaches that no one should teach, preach, or administer the sacraments without having been called according to the rules of the Lutheran Church. |
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Article 15:
Concerning Church Rites |
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Definition
| The Lutheran Church teaches that it can observe those rites that are not sinful and also contribute to peace in the assembly. However, it also warns the people not to believe that these rites, nor any actions created by humanity, are necessary for salvation. |
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Article 16:
Concerning Civic Affairs |
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Definition
The Lutheran Church teaches that Christians may participate fully in the systems of of secular government, including the law, the military, and the taking of oaths. Christians are expected to obey the civil law as a command from God, as long as is does not command them to sin, and to do so with love.
Likewise, the Lutheran Church rejects the heresy that prohibits Christians from participating in civic life and leads them to believe that this lack of participation has salvific merit, instead of properly placing that merit in the fear of God and in faith. |
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Term
Article 17:
Concerning The Return of Christ for Judgment |
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Definition
The Lutheran Church teaches that at the end of days, Christ will return to earth and bring to life all those who have died, giving eternal life and joy to the righteous but consigning the unrighteous to eternal torment.
Likewise, the Lutheran Church rejects the heresies that say the punishment of the ungodly will be finite and that before the final resurrection the righteous will take over secular world and put down the unrighteous. |
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Article 18:
Concerning Free Will |
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Definition
The Lutheran Church teaches that humanity has free will only in regard to the things of reason. Humanity does not possess any power to create righteousness without the Holy Spirit, who produces it through the Word.
Likewise, the Lutheran Church rejects the heresy that the power of nature can produce righteousness without the Holy Spirit. It may be able to produce other good external things, but it cannot produce faith nor righteousness without God. |
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Term
Article 19:
Concerning the Cause of Sin |
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Definition
| The Luthera Church teaches that although God has created all things, sin comes from the evil that opposes God, namely, the devil. |
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Term
Article 20:
Concerning Faith and Good Works |
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Definition
The Lutheran Church teaches that good works are fine in themselves, but they do not confer grace on the doer. It is necessary to desire to do good works because they grow from faith in God, who expects us to do them because of the love, grace, and faith God has freely given.
Likewise, the Lutheran Church rejects the heresy that promotes good works as the way to earn or gain faith and salvation, which comes from Christ alone. |
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Article 21:
Concerning the Cult of the Saints |
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Definition
| The Lutheran Church teaches that the saints can serve as examples for Christians to emulate, but we are not to pray to them nor use them as intercessors between us and God, a role that belongs to Christ alone. Christians are not only allowed to call on Christ in need, but are expected to do so whenever they can. |
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Article 22:
Concerning Both Kinds |
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Definition
| The Lutheran Church teaches that both body and blood are to be offered to all lay people should they desire. According to Scripture, this was the practice during Biblical and early church times. Because the two kinds should not be separated, but viewed together as the Sacrament, there should not be a procession of the elements. |
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Article 23:
Concerning the Marriage of Priests |
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Definition
| The Lutheran Church teaches that marriage for priests is permitted by Biblical and ancient Church precedent. Both Christ and Paul stated that the gift of celibacy was not given to all and that it is better to be married than to lust. Women, although not recognized as clergy at the time of this writing, are specifically encouraged to marry if they don't feel they have the gift of celibacy. |
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Term
Article 24:
Concerning the Mass |
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Definition
The Lutheran Church teaches that the Mass should be use to console those who are suffering in their sin by giving them the sacrament.The Mass is to be treated worthily; using it for financial gain is specifically prophibited. There should be one Mass where the assembly worships together.
Likewise, the Lutheran Church rejects the heresy that the Mass in and of itself is salvific in nature. It specifically rejects the idea that Christ died to save us only from original sin and that the Mass is needed to achieve forgiveness of our daily sins. |
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Article 25:
Concerning Confession |
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Definition
The Lutheran Church teaches that confession should remain a part of Lutheran practice because the relief of absolution for the conscience is to be desired. Those confessing must both have faith that absolution comes directly from God and that it is through this faith in Christ that we are truly forgiven. Although confession is a human law, it is retained because of its efficacy for easing the tortured spirit of the sinner.
Likewise, the Lutheran Church rejects the heresy that all sins must be spoken and counted during confession, because this is not humanly possible. Rather, we must trust that God forgives all our sins, known and unknown to us, spoken or unspoken by us. |
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Article 26:
Concerning the Distinction of Foods |
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Definition
| The Lutheran Church teaches that salvation comes through faith in Christ alone. This means that those traditions that have come to us through the ages, such as fasting, eating only certain foods and avoiding others, and other forms of bodily mortification, must be undertake very carefully, so that neither the persons observing them nor those who cannot believe that these practices are required or have any salvific merit. The point is for these physical disciplines to enhance spiritual growth, not to become the center of it. |
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Article 27:
Concerning Monastic Vows |
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Definition
| The Lutheran Church teaches that vows created and administered by humanity as secondary to those instituted by God; when they conflict, God's prevail and humanity's are invalid. No one can be held to their vows if they were undertaken under duress, by an underage child, or when a person leaves the monastery to follow God's command in preference to humanity's. There is no salvific merit to following monastic vows, for salvation comes only through faith in Christ, and this must be made clear to everyone, lest they feel guilty that they are following God's law and not humanity's. |
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Term
Article 28:
Concerning the Church's Power |
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Definition
| The Lutheran Church teaches that the power of the church and the power of the sword are rightly separated, the former given to the church and the latter to the secular government. The secular law is to be followed unless it conflicts with the law of God, which prevails. This is also true for the ordinances created by the church, about which it must be clear their observance is not salvific in nature. The church must necessarily create some laws to preserve good order, but it may in no way convey to the people that these laws are necessary for salvation. We must also consider that some laws are intended only for a time, and due attention should be paid to the context in which they were created and whether that situation continues. |
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