|
The central concept in Lutheran theology is that humanity is justified,
put back in a right relationship with God, by grace alone through
faith alone by the death and resurrection of Christ. It is not what
we do, but what God has done and is doing in Christ that frees us
from sin, death, and the power of evil. Out of this freedom, we
live lives of service and love towards God and creation.
Lutherans believe that for true unity to exist among Christians,
it is enough to agree on the teaching and preaching of the Gospel
and administration of the sacraments. Traditions, rites, and ceremonies
started by people don’t need to be alike everywhere. Lutherans
also believe that there is a special calling in life to ordained
ministry, but it is not only the job of pastor to proclaim the Gospel
to the world, it is the calling of all Christians. Pastors are no
more “holy” or “good” than any other people.
In the freedom of the Gospel, Lutherans believe that we are able
to confront sin, death, and evil in the world, name it for what
it is, and work as a community of faith to overcome their power
over us. We are theologians of the cross, because it is the cross
of Christ that reveals God’s true glory and gives us the best
picture of what God is like. We are suspicious of easy, “black-and-white”
answers; we are able to live with ambiguity and dialectic, not putting
our faith in our own powers of reason or our own purpose, but in
the promises of God in Christ.
|
