…"We have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law"… Galatians 2:16 (NRSV)

 

WHAT IS A LUTHERAN?

 

At the millennium historians voted Martin Luther to be one of the most influential people of the past 1000 years. His 1517 posting of 95 debating points on the Cathedral door in Wittenburg, Germany became a turning point in history. As the Renaissance with it's scientific and global discoveries emerged, this monk's challenge to the Roman Catholic Church fit right in. The world was changing and the human mind was exploding with a need to be free to explore one's relationship with God on an individual basis.

 

The Lutheran Church also known as the Protestant (protesting) church was formed. It formed out of the Spirit-inspired personal struggle of a very human man. As Luther received greater authority to teach within the Catholic Church he found himself struggling with what he was learning.  His wrestling resulted in explosive questions.

 

"How do I know I'm ever good enough for God to love me?"

"Why must a baptized child of God go to a priest or a pope in order to be forgiven and to understand Scripture?"

"How can the church teach that the purchase of an indulgence can result in forgiveness when it is the blood of Christ, freely shed, that saves us?"

"How can man-made laws of the church be superior to God's Word in Scripture?"

 

The cry of the Reformation was "Grace Alone. Faith Alone. Scripture Alone." Luther translated the Bible from Latin to German so people could read God's word on their own. He wrote an instruction book so that parents could teach their children the faith. Luther firmly believed in the "priesthood of all believers" which means that all are called through baptism to a personal relationship with Christ that results in faithful living in their daily lives.

 

It was no longer guilt and fear that governed a person's life but the joy of knowing Christ who unconditionally loves and forgives us. Luther needed this message. He was a man with a temper. He was often prejudiced, and he was a man who loved his beer. He also loved his wife Katy, a former nun. In their marriage he lived his belief that celibacy was not God's requirement for the priesthood. But foremost, he loved his Lord who had freed and used him in all his humanness to reform the church and make God's word freely available to all people regardless of class, race, gender or nationality.

 

Today the Lutheran Church is the largest Protestant Church in the world. We are known as the "Singing Church" since it was Luther who wrote many of our great hymns. We worship in many different ways because the good news of Jesus Christ must be proclaimed boldly in the context of the people gathered. Yet it is still God's Grace, God's Word and God's Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion that remain our core. St. Paul's is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. We invite you to join us at 8:30 or 10 a.m. as we celebrate the joy of being saved by faith alone in Jesus Christ.

 

For more information on the Lutheran Church, I would like to invite you to meet with me with you.

 

Sincerely,

Pastor Lyn