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"I am
not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone
who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile."
Romans 1:16
What Is The Gospel?
The word gospel means "good news." It refers
to the good news that God has sent His Son Jesus Christ into the world to bridge the gap
between us and God. This gap was caused by our sins. Because of our sins God
was angry with us and we were separated from Him. That separation meant that we were
going to be condemned to eternal punishment. God's anger would bring us His
judgment. Because of God's love for us, He gave His only Son to die in our place.
Through His death God's anger with us has been appeased. But Jesus did not
stay in the grave. Just as He had promised, God raised Jesus from the dead.
The good news is that God gives us the forgiveness of sins won by Jesus through His
death and the eternal life demonstrated in Jesus' resurrection--and He gives it to us as a
gift!
With the universal Christian Church, we believe, teach
and confess the Triune God: the Father, creator of all that exists; Jesus Christ, the Son,
who became a human being in order to suffer and die for the sins of all human beings and
who rose to life again in victory over sin, death and the devil; and the Holy Spirit,
who creates faith through God's Word and Sacraments. The three persons of the Trinity are
coequal and are the one eternal God.
As Lutheran Christians, we embrace and
teach the Bible-based teachings of Martin Luther that were the basis of the reformation of
the Christian Church in the 16th century. The teachings of Luther and the reformers
are summarized in the three solas (sola is Latin for "alone"):
Grace
alone, Scripture alone, Faith alone
—
symbolized by the Luther Rose, shown here:
- Grace alone (sola gratia)
- God loves the people of the world, even though we are sinful, rebel against Him and
do not deserve His love. Because of His undeserved love and mercy, God sent His only Son
Jesus Christ to love the unlovable and save the ungodly.
-
- Scripture alone (sola scriptura)
- The Bible is God's inerrant and infallible Word, in which He
reveals both His Law and the Good News (gospel) of salvation in Jesus
Christ. It is the sole source and authority for what we believe, teach and
confess.
-
- Faith alone (sola fide)
- Jesus purchased and won forgiveness of sins for all people by His suffering and
death on the Cross. God creates faith in Christ in those who hear this Good News.
It is this gift of faith that brings us the forgiveness won by Christ and the
eternal life He gives through the forgiveness of sins. Nothing other than faith in
Christ is necessary for forgiveness and eternal life.
For a more detailed examination of the teachings of the Lutheran Church, follow the
links below to the documents that make up the body of doctrine believed, taught and
confessed by the Lutheran Church called The Book of Concord:
These texts are in the public domain and may be copied and distributed
freely. The source of these translations is
Triglot Concordia: The Symbolical Books of
the Evangelical Lutheran Church (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921).
You can view the
entire Book of Concord here
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