You should not feel under any prior obligation to accept or commit yourself to what is being taught; the purpose of the class is to help you on the basis of the Bible to judge for yourself whether what the Lutheran Church teaches is grounded in all that it teaches. I have found the Assemblies of God official website very helpful in summarizing their teaching, and, if you have not looked at this site, you also may find it helpful.
Since Lutherans and Pentecostal churches have differing understandings of the Holy Spirit's work and gifts, you may find these reports useful. Read more information on the Lutheran view. However, one of the major doctrinal differences has to do with what the Bible teaches about Baptism and the Lord's Supper.
Lutherans regard Baptism and the Lord's Supper as divinely instituted sacraments. Our confessional writings describe them as the Gospel in "visible" form. They are, therefore, at the heart and center of the Lutheran faith. Baptist churches do not regard Baptism as a means of grace through which the Holy Spirit works to create and strengthen faith. Therefore, they reject infant Baptism. They also place great emphasis on the mode of Baptism immersion required.
Likewise, the Lord's Supper is generally regarded by Baptists as merely a commemorative meal, not a sacrament in which the body and blood of Christ is truly present in and with the bread and wine for the forgiveness of sins. Baptist churches also typically stress the role of "free will" in conversion, and accordingly speak of faith in Christ as being attained through a person's "choice" or "decision.
Lutherans, on the other hand, believe that faith itself is a gift of God's grace and is brought about not by the "free will" of human beings but by the power of God's Spirit working through God's means of grace, the Word and Sacraments.
For more information, see FAQs on Salvation. Episcopalians attach great important to the theory of the apostolic succession.
They insist that the apostles ordained bishops, these in turn ordained their successors, and so down through the centuries, so that the present-day bishops are the successors of the apostles through an unbroken chain. Scripture knows nothing of such a theory. Episcopalians hold that only bishops who have received their authority in this way can properly ordain ministers and that without such Episcopal ordination a minister cannot validly perform the sacraments. For more information about denominational differences, you may read Churches in America by Thomas Manteufel, available from Concordia Publishing House or cph.
Although statements of this kind are generally very brief and do not delineate precisely what is meant on topics that are traditionally disputed, it is possible to make some evaluative comments. It is clear from the statement itself, first of all, that there would be a substantial amount of doctrinal agreement between our churches regarding core teachings, such as the doctrine of Holy Scripture, God, salvation, the church as the body of Christ, and the resurrection.
At the same time, however, those committed to Lutheran confessional doctrine would want to seriously question certain points in this statement. The EFCA, along with many evangelicals, seems to hold to a view of these Sacraments that we would find contrary to biblical teaching. Several times the teaching notes for the new EFCA Statement of Faith comment that a certain Evangelical Free doctrinal position is only one of several acceptable positions, or that a position may be acceptable but not exclusive.
From a Lutheran perspective what may be regarded by some as non-essential or acceptable positions may in fact directly impinge on the biblical Gospel or biblical truth.
For example, the denial of infant baptism in some circles is sometimes dismissed as a point on which differences must be permitted, when in fact in most cases fundamental understandings of the nature of sin, the means of grace, faith, etc. There are dozens of denominations of "Methodist" background and character which differ greatly from each other in theology and practice, from "holiness" churches to "Pentecostal" churches to "mainline" Methodist churches;.
Even Methodist churches of the same denomination often differ to some degree in their theology and practice, since Methodist churches, as a rule, tend to be more concerned with "deeds" than "creeds. Therefore, one might say the most fundamental difference between Lutheran and many Methodist churches is that the Lutheran church is a confessional church i. The primary differences between Lutheranism and "classical" Methodism rooted in the theology of John Wesley center in Wesley's doctrine of salvation.
Wesley taught, contrary to Lutheran theology, that 1 man is free not only to reject salvation but also to accept it free salvation by an act of human will; 2 all people who are obedient to the Gospel according to the measure of knowledge given them will be saved universal salvation ; 3 the Holy Spirit assures man of his salvation directly, through an inner "experience" sure salvation ; 4 Christians in this life are capable of Christian perfection and are commanded by God to pursue it full salvation.
Wesley also held to a "symbolic" view of the sacraments in contrast to the Lutheran view of the sacraments as real and powerful means of grace. Mayer, CPH, That is because the official writings of Mormonism deny fundamental teachings of orthodox Christianity.
For example, the Nicene Creed confesses the clear biblical truth that Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Trinity, is "of one substance with the Father. In addition, the Father is regarded as having a body "of flesh and bone" Such teaching is contrary to the Holy Scriptures, destructive to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and indicative of the fact that Mormon teaching is not Christian. ANSWER: Perhaps the main difference between The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and Pentecostal churches is that Pentecostal churches tend to emphasize the importance of personal and spiritual "experiences" such as "Baptism in the Holy Spirit" and speaking in tongues , while the LCMS emphasizes the importance and centrality of the word and promises of God in Holy Scripture, which remain true and valid regardless of our personal "feelings" or "experiences.
ANSWER: As is the case with most mainline denominations today, there are specific issues such as the ordination of women, abortion, homosexuality, etc. Such differences typically stem from more fundamental differences concerning the authority of Scripture itself. Having said this, the major theological differences between historic Lutheranism and Presbyterianism and other churches of Calvinistic background and theological orientation include the following:.
The centrality of the Gospel. Presbyterian churches tend to emphasize the "glory" or "sovereignty" of God as the central teaching of Scripture, while Lutherans believe that the central teaching of Scripture — and the key to understanding and interpreting the Bible — is the Gospel: the Good News of Salvation for sinners by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
The nature of Christ's atonement. Lutherans believe that when Jesus died on the cross He atoned for the sins of all people of all time — even those who have not or will not come to faith in Christ and will spend eternity in hell. Some Presbyterian churches teach a "limited atonement" of Christ, i.
Most Presbyterian churches teach a "double predestination," i. Lutherans believe that while God, in his grace in Christ Jesus, has indeed chosen from eternity to save those who trust in Jesus Christ, He has not predestined anyone to damnation. Those who are saved are saved by grace alone; those who are damned are damned not by God's choice but because of their own sin and stubbornness.
This is a mystery that is incomprehensible to human reason as are all true Scriptural articles of faith. The authority of Scripture. A fourth difference has to do with the proper use of reason and its relationship to the authority of Scripture. Lutherans look to Scripture alone as the source of all Christian doctrine, and we hold to the teachings of Scripture even when they are incomprehensible to human reason. Some Presbyterian churches tend to place human reason alongside Scripture as a source of doctrinal authority, and they seek to bring seemingly paradoxical Scriptural truths into harmony with human reason in ways that in our view undermine the truthfulness and authority of Scripture.
The Sacraments. Most Presbyterian churches to a greater or lesser degree view the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper merely as "signs" or "symbols" of God's grace. A more detailed discussion of the differences between Lutherans and Calvinist churches may be found in Churches in America by Thomas Manteufel, available from Concordia Publishing House in St.
Regarding communion, the bread and the wine represent the body and blood of Jesus. We are partaking in faith the body of christ bread and the blood wine. However, the wine and bread are first consecrated. And so become the outward and visible signs received in faith. What is this faith? Our belief as Christians that Christ was crucified, died and was buried and on the third day he rose from the dead. This is one of the two Sacraments commanded by Jesus.
Inspired by God. This is one of the downfalls of big churches in my opinion. They are always preaching about tithing. I have seen people shamed for not giving enough when they cannot put food on the table for their family before!!! Come to church and praise The Lord… when you can feed you family, THEN you can tithe… but until that time, you are as welcome as anyone else in the congragation!!!
Jesus is God. Tithing…God says to be a cheerful giver, and He allows us to test Him by giving to Him the firstfruits of our labor. We give because we trust Him and His promises to us. Jesus says that we must hate our family compared to the love we have for Him.
Plus, when the preacher stands there and has a whole sermon on Tithing, be makes the church seem poor or lacking. No excesses allowed other than basic cable and a cellphone. Communication is a must in this world now. Peace and Love, Go with God. But a prophet…. We could not be saved without the blood of Jesus at Calvary and His sacrifice for us on the cross.
Then we need to accept,believe and confess our sins. God bless all. Please learn to spell. Prophet not profit. The first one has to do with religion and the other is money or some kind of gain. Jesus Christ is GOD who came down from heaven in human form to save us.
Jesus Christ IS the son of God. True God, and true man. He came to die on the cross, for all who will believe, the truth and accept him! Jesus died on the cross and endured so much pain and agony to wash away our sins and make us whole.
Psalms The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. Ecclesiastes Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. Matthew Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Revelation Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. Jesus is prophet, priest and king. Is not this break that we break a participation in the body of Christ? We leave that up to God. Human reason cannot understand many of the mysteries that the Bible teaches. But we believe what Scripture teaches. That was the real genius of Martin Luther. Despite his great intellect he approached the Bible like a little child that simply believes what the Bible teaches.
Luther recognized what a barrier human reason can be to believing what the Bible teaches. Use scripture to interpret scripture. Be like Mary who treasured all these things in her heart. Lutherans are not Christians. Neither are any of the other denominations.
Paul abraded the Corinthians for denominating themselves into sects, Paulines, Peterites, and Apollosites 1Cor Christ can not and should not be divided 1 Cor There are only Christians.
Any one that tries to divide Christ are heretics and are lost. All should believe in the risen Christ John ,all should repent turn away from of ones sinful life Acts , all should confess Christ Rom , all should Be Baptized immersed in water for the remission of sins Rom and all should continue in the faith to the best of ones ability until death Matt Then the faithful will be rewarded with eternal life Rev Being a Christian means to be a follower of Christ.
Thats it. Jesus is the only important thing. Chloe, I respect you for voicing your opinion but when it comes to salvation neither your opinion nor my opinion counts for anything. You see it takes more that simply believing and accepting Jesus as your only savior to save you, Jesus himself said you must obey to be saved. Personally, I choose not to argue with Jesus on this point.
Baptist doctrine is different than Lutheran doctrine and Christian doctrine is different than Baptist and Lutheran doctrines. Here in lies the rub. I know you mean well but you have been taught things that can not be proved out to be true according to scripture and I know you would agree that scripture is our ultimate authority. May God bless you and give you understanding. Even a child can be a Christian, can be saved. Simply by believing and accepting who He says He is and what He has done to you.
If you truly believe in Him, then He will change your heart. He will change the way you think, hear, see, say, and do. Are you saying that if you disobeyed God, you stopped being saved? Are you saying that in order to be saved, you have to constantly obey Him? The whole point of Jesus dying on that Cross for me, for you, and for everyone is to for our sins.
And one of those sins is disobedience. And to be saved from those sins is to simply believe who He says He is and what He is to you and what He has done for you. If you truly believed that, then you are saved. That Romans is all a lie? Since you always accept the scriptures at face value then why not accept what John and Romans at face value? I, myself, know that I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I am continually wanting to grow deeper into my relationship with Dad [Jesus].
My personality changed. The way I see, say, think, and do things changed. All because of His grace. Every single day I still mess up. But He still loves me. And I still believe in Him. Not true at all. One is justification, believing in the fact that Jesus died on the cross for my sins and that He rose again. Once you believe that. The second part is sanctification.
Simply by believing in Him. And confessing it with your mouth. So simple that a child can understand. Thanks for the patience if you read the whole thing, Tom. You try your best to do what he says and obey him, but he also knows your gonna disobey him.
You understand that. He died on the cross for our sins, so his torture is caused by us sinning. Obey him and when you mess up say your sorry, if not to God to spare Jesus from the ignorance inside of all of us, then to Jesus for causing him pain.
How did the thief on the cross get to be with Jesus in paradise? Was he baptized? Did he ever experience any of he sacraments? He knew who Jesus was…his Lord. We must stop all this legalistic stuff and know that we know that we know that Jesus is Lord!! If we say that we are not sinners, the we make God a liar. Thank you Lord Jesus!! Hallelujah and Amen!! Baptism is the outward response to what is going on inside, after salvation.
The thief did not have a chance to be baptized before death. Was he saved? You better believe it! Jesus walked this earth to teach and guide us. One of His examples was being baptized. We are to follow in His steps. Baptism comes after salvation. The Word was never meant to be complicated.
He offers us a precious gift, through His Son, Jesus Christ. The gift of salvation and everlasting life with Him. So in response to a previous post by someone else, baptism does not save. Salvation is required before baptism. In response to the person making the statement about repentance….. It is my understanding that the blood sacrifice Christ made, was to cover sins up to the point of salvation.
Because we are human, we will sin. Here is a hint. It is a concept derived from theology. Look up the baptism scripture and if you find it, please post it here. It will suprise some of us. Looking forward to you post. I am pleasantly surprised that this thread has endured the years and is still providing spiritual and intellectual stimulation. God bless. Tom Sherman- you asked if someone finds a scripture on baptism as an outward sign to post here..
And it IS in the scriptures, contrary to your statement above…. Being baptized is an outward sign. But John tried to talk him out of it. JESUS said that. Plain as day. And as you frequently mention, you prefer not to argue with Jesus, we share that sentiment. I agree we should all discard doctrines of men. HE is the author and finisher of our faith. NOT doctrines of men. Have a blessed day in the LORD. When did following God become so divisive? Sadly Henri, it has always been divisive.
Only the blood of Christ holds it together. May the Lord forgive us! Hebrews KJV For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth law , there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
I agree with you Chloe. Jesus dying on the cross is the reason we received grace through faith. Its all about Him, the Trinity part. The division is there, but if we accept what His Son did and continue in faith, we will enter into heaven.
We will know all the answers when Jesus returns for us. Yo Jesus created a church. The Roman Catholic Church, the one the Lutheran church was derived from. If you truly love Jesus, then you should start going to the church he created and not the one that was tampered with by a human being, unless maybe you want to tell me that a human knows better than Jesus. Actually Alicia, if you want to be technical, the Roman Church parted ways with the Orthodox Church, in large part, over the Catholic position that the Pope had authority over all other bishops.
The Orthodox Church still holds to its original or at least early doctrine. All this can, of course, be disputed. However, it is historically documented. And because Jesus is the only important thing you need to go to the sacraments. And the sacrament of reconciliation is literally created to help us grow closer to Jesus. And they were so close to Jesus that he graced them with miracles. Saints tell us how to live close to Jesus, and because you love Jesus so much you should look at how they lived their lives so that you can mirror them to become a better Christian.
It seems a bit of a double standard regarding what you stated about Luther. And because the Roman Catholic Church was Soo corrupt at the time, Luther felt it necessary to call out the MEN and bring the Word to the people, in many ways, but one was by translating to the language of his countrymen, something kept from the people by the RCC.
You should learn the history before condemning. In the last days there will be, God will raise up an army that he has trained, that all follow Christ, all have been baptised in water and the Holy Spirit and by his Grace, serve him in love. We are his chosen people, a Royal Priesthood.
We do not belong to any denomination or church and have been taught by the Holy Spirit. So that no man can boast. I found it refreshing to find a like minded Christian….
Thank you for your message. Dont stay at home. The belief of every human born in the world is born with sin and only baptism can remove it. The church is the one true church for the Catholics. Bible is deeply worshipped as the inspired word of God. The Catholic Church in Rome has protected the original scriptures of Bible for so many years. Mother Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ is worshipped as the first among all the saints.
Mother Mary is also considered to be the mother of Church. Catholics do not pray to any statues; they pray to God. Catholics believe in resurrection and not reincarnation. A strong effort to reform Roman Catholic Church in the s gave raise to Protestantism. Martin Luther, who was the Professor of Bible at University of Wittenberg then, started this movement.
The political and academic climate then existed in Europe, gave impetus to the reformation. In the year , there was a split in Christianity, Catholics and Lutherans. The term Lutheran was kept by a German Theologian Dr. Johann Maier von Eck. The faith of Lutherans is based out of doctrines laid out by Martin Luther. In the year , the first Lutheran Church was set up.
Heaven and Hell are literal places for the Lutherans. Hell is considered to be the place of punishments whereas the heaven is the place of God.
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