What Is A Lutheran?

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 Wittenberg University, titled “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.

What started as an academic debate escalated into a distinct separation between the Roman Catholic church of the time and those who accepted Luther’s suggested reforms. “Lutheran” became the name of the group that agreed with Luther’s convictions.

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, and Scripture alone. These comprise the very essence of Lutheranism:

  • We are saved by the grace of God alone – not by anything we do;
  • Our salvation is through faith alone – we only need to trust God made known in Christ who promises us forgiveness, life and salvation; and
  • The Bible is the norm for faith and life – the true standard by which teachings and doctrines are to be judged.

We believe in the Triune God. God created and loves all of creation — the earth and the seas and all of the world’s inhabitants. We believe that God’s Son, Jesus Christ, transforms lives through his death on the cross and his new life, and we trust that God’s Spirit is active in the world.

We are part of God’s unfolding plan. When we gather for worship, we connect with believers everywhere. When we study the Bible or hear God’s word in worship, we are drawn more deeply into God’s own saving story.

The convictions shared by Christians from many different traditions are expressed in statements of belief called creeds. These ecumenical creeds that Lutherans affirm and use in worship confess the faith of the church through the ages and around the world.

We accept the following creeds as true declarations of the faith of this church:

  • The Apostles’ Creed
  • The Nicene Creed
  • The Athanasian Creed

As part of the Lutheran Church in Malaysia and Singapore, we also adopt this Confession of Faith:

  1. This church confesses Jesus Christ as Lord of the Church. The Holy Spirit creates and sustains the Church through the Gospel and thereby unites believers with their Lord and with one another in the fellowship of faith.
  2. This church holds that the Gospel is the revelation of God’s sovereign will and saving grace in Jesus Christ. In Him, the Word Incarnate, God imparts Himself to men.
  3. This church believes in the necessity for all men to obtain salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, repentance of past sins, renunciation of Satan and all his works, the pomp and vanity of this world, and the turning to a new life in Jesus Christ through baptism.
  4. This church acknowledges the Holy Scriptures as the norm for the faith and life of the Church. The Holy Scriptures are the divinely inspired record of God’s redemptive act in Jesus Christ, for which the Old Testament prepared the way and which the New Testament proclaims. In the continuation of this proclamation in the Church, God still speaks through the Holy Scriptures and realizes His redemptive purpose generation after generation.
  5. This church accepts the Apostles’, the Nicene, and the Athanasian Creeds as true declaration of the faith of the Church.
  6. This church accepts the Unaltered Augsburg Confession and Luther’s Small Catechism as true witnesses to the Gospel, and acknowledges as one with it in faith and doctrines all churches that likewise accepts the teachings of these symbols.
  7. This church accepts the other symbolic books of the evangelical Lutheran Church, the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, the Smalcald Articles, Luther’s Large Catechism, and the Formula of Concord, as further valid interpretations of the confession of the Church.
  8. This church affirms that the Gospel transmitted by the Holy Scriptures, to which the creeds and confessions bear witnesses is the true treasure of the Church, the substance of its proclamation, and the basis of its unity and continuity. The Holy Spirit uses the proclamation of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments to create and sustain Christian faith and fellowship. As this occurs, the Church fulfills its divine mission and purpose.

The Confession of Faith is published in Article II of the Constitution of the Lutheran Church in Malaysia and Singapore