What is the Lutheran Church?
The Lutheran Church is one of the world’s major Christian churches. It is the largest and longest established Protestant church and there are more than 70 million Lutherans in the world today.
The Lutheran Church dates back to the Reformation in the sixteenth century when Martin Luther (1483-1546) challenged some of the teachings and practices of the church of his day. Luther insisted that the Bible is the authority that decides what the church should teach and do. The name ‘Lutheran’ was given to people who believed that Martin Luther was right in his interpretation of the Bible.
The Lutheran Church has been in Australia for over 175 years and is best known for its work in the aged care, education, and community service sectors. Today, the Lutheran Church is made up of people from rural and urban areas and many different cultural backgrounds. In Australia and New Zealand, around 250,000 people identify as Lutheran.
What does it mean to be a Lutheran?
- Lutherans believe in one true God
- Lutherans share the Christian belief of other that the one true God has made himself known as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
- Lutherans believe that God loves all people
- Lutherans believe in Jesus Christ
- Jesus Christ is God’s Son. Because he loves the world, God sent his Son Jesus to make things right between God and all of us. Jesus took responsibility for the sins of all people and died for us. Jesus also broke the power of death by becoming alive again
- Lutherans believe that God offers his forgiveness to everyone as a free gift. We do not have to earn God’s forgiveness or pay for it. It is ours when we believe in Jesus as our Saviour
- Lutherans believe what the Bible says. The Bible is the word of God. Lutherans accept the Bible as the authority that decides what they are to believe and how they should live. Lutherans believe that the good news about Jesus is the key to the Bible.