The Lutheran Church

A Lutheran is a Christian--one who trusts in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. 

The word "lutheran" is an adjective that describes the Lutheran understanding of the Christian faith.

The Lutheran Church came into existence through the leadership of the reformer, Martin Luther.  Luther was a Catholic priest and Doctor of Theology who was led by the Holy Spirit to take a stand for reform of the church of his day.  The basic teachings he stressed: 

• "Justification by Faith" (a person is justified or saved not through good works or merit, but it is a Divine Gift from God accepted through faith in Jesus Christ) 

• "Universal Priesthood of Believers" (the individual's conscience is answerable only to the word of God.  Christ alone is the intermediary between people and God.  Through baptism we are all members of the priesthood of believers)

• "Supremacy of Scripture" (The word of God, received in faith and revealed as the Holy Gospel, was the true path to Salvation. The Bible is the supreme authority for matters of faith and life)

These basic teachings form the cornerstone of not only the Lutheran Church but all of Protestantism that resulted from the Reformation.  Today there are over 330,000.000 Protestants.  There are more than 8 million Lutheran Christians in the United States.

The church is really people called to faith in Jesus Christ and sent on a mission to the world: "you will be my witnesses.”  Acts 1:8

For more information about the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, which Bethel Lutheran Church is a Member of, please visit their website at http://www.elca.org.

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