I believe that Jesus Christ, true God - Son of the Father from eternity - and true man - born of the Virgin Mary - is my Lord. At great cost, He has redeemed me - a lost and condemned person - from sin, death and the power of the devil. Not with silver or gold, but with His holy and precious blood and innocent suffering and death. All this He has done so that I may be His own and live with Him in everlasting innocence, righteousness and blessedness. I also believe that I cannot, by my own understanding, believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord or come to Him, but the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me by His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth. In this Christian Church, day by day He forgives my sin and the sins of all believers, and on the last day, He will raise me, and all the dead and give me, and all believers in Christ, eternal life.
Lutherans: Who are they?
What they believe
Lutherans believe that they are members of the ONE Church founded by Jesus Christ. About Jesus Christ they believe that He is the sinless Son of God raised from the dead after He had taken upon Himself the sins of the whole world, consequently suffering the cross and death. For His sake God forgives and accepts sinful human beings without any conditions. There are no "ifs" or "buts". Nobody is too bad. This is the GOOD NEWS or the Gospel.
Each person can be sure that he belongs to Jesus Christ, in other words, that he is born again or saved, by virtue of the fact that he has been baptised. Through baptism, which is the "washing of water with the WORD" (Ephesians 5,26), he has been made a member of the Church of Jesus Christ. Everyone is invited to believe that God forgave and accepted him when he was baptised "in the Name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28,19). The act of baptism is the means by which the Triune God makes the GOOD NEWS effective for the individual in a tangible way.
In addition to the blessing that baptism gives, the Lord Jesus Christ wants to assure His people again and again that they are forgiven and accepted when they receive Holy Communion. In His Supper He gives Himself to them when He says, "Take and eat, this is my body which is given for you; take and drink, this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26,26-28; Mark 14,22-24; Luke 22,19-20; cf John 6,53; I Corinthians 11,23-25). Again, a person may know, "The GOOD NEWS is meant for me."
In a nutshell, Lutherans believe that their good standing before God is not their own doing. Not even the fact that they believe this GOOD NEWS is their own doing. For Everything "is the gift of God - not because of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2,8f). Salvation is therefore by GRACE ALONE, is achieved by CHRIST ALONE, is received by FAITH ALONE and meditated by the WORD ALONE.
Their Name
Because Martin Luther, born 1483, disagreed with the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church of his day on how we get a good standing in the sight of God he was excluded from the Roman Catholic Church. In time people who believed as he did came to be known as Lutherans. Although they bear this name, they do not exist to honour Luther. Rather, the aim of the Lutheran Church is to proclaim the GOOD NEWS.
Their Numbers
The Lutheran Church can claim to be the largest protestant denomination in the world. Only Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox churches have more followers.
Lutherans in South Africa
The first Lutheran Congregation in South Africa was established in Cape Town in 1780. Through immigration, mainly from Germany, and through work done by German, Scandinavian and American Mission Societies many Lutheran Congregations are to be found all over South Africa. These Congregations are grouped in four main bodies, namely:
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (Cape Church),
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (Natal-Transvaal),
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa,
Free Evangelical Lutheran Synod in South Africa.
An Invitation to YOU
Perhaps you have no ties to any church. Perhaps you would like some information on the GOOD NEWS. In which case I invite you to contact me and I will put you in touch with a pastor in your area in South Africa.
Tract courtesy of CCE of ELCSA (Cape Church)