The Lutheran's Confession
Helping Lutherans Reclaim Their Confession
God made the biggest decision of your life:
When speaking to a fellow believer about their faith in Jesus Christ it usually doesn't take very long before that person describes a moment in their life when they made a decision to follow Jesus and to make him Lord of their life. A common question asked by many Christians is, “When were you saved?'
Lutherans can sometimes really irritate their brothers and sisters in Christ when this conversation comes up because we answer by saying things like: “I didn't choose Jesus. He chose me,``''Jesus is Lord of my life whether or not I want him to be,” and “I was saved 2000 years ago when Christ died on the cross.”
It does kind of sound like we are trying to be argumentative and sarcastic but really we are just trying to point out one of the most significant differences between Lutheranism and most of the rest of Christianity. This difference becomes obvious when we ask the question, “What kind of powers do human beings have after the fall of our first parents, before rebirth, on their own, in spiritual matters?” (Formula of Concord, Art. II, paragraph 1)
Do we have the power to “accept Christ?” The Scriptures clearly point to the fact that our “human reason and understanding are blind in spiritual matters and understand nothing on the basis of their own powers.” (paragraph 2) “Likewise, we believe, teach, and confess that the unregenerate human will is not only turned away from God but has also become God's enemy.” (paragraph 3)
Lutherans really aren't trying to be irritating but the only conversation we are really interested in having is about Christ.
We deny “the free will its powers and ascribe everything to God's grace.” (paragraph 6)
In a future essay we will discuss the means through which we receive this grace and how the Holy Spirit affects conversion.
