What Exactly Is Lutheran?

It is tempting to answer, “Someone who belongs to a Lutheran church.” But for me, that answer falls far short. Being Lutheran is more than belonging to a denomination. It is a way of understanding God, faith, forgiveness and our calling to serve others.

Over the years, I have become enthralled by Lutheran theology - not simply because I have studied it, but because I have experienced it.

At the heart of Lutheran faith is a wonderfully liberating message: we are saved by God’s grace through faith, not by our good works.

We don’t earn God’s love by being good enough, going to church often enough, praying enough prayers or doing enough good deeds. God’s grace comes first.

Our good works still matter enormously. But they aren’t what saves us. Rather, they are our response to what God has already done for us. We don’t serve others so that God will love us. We serve because God already loves us.

Saints and Sinners

One of the Lutheran ideas that speaks most strongly to me is that we are simultaneously saints and sinners. We are sinners because we are human. We make mistakes. We fail. We sometimes say the wrong thing, make the wrong choice or neglect to do what we know we should.

Yet we are also saints - not because we are perfect, but because God has claimed us through Christ. That means we don’t have to pretend before God or one another that we have everything figured out. We can acknowledge our failures, seek forgiveness and continue forward knowing that God’s grace is greater than our shortcomings. For me, there is tremendous freedom in that.

Following Luther’s Footsteps

My appreciation for Lutheranism grew enormously through three trips to Germany. Two were made on behalf of our Pennsylvania Synod. The third was much more personal, the marriage of our son to his German born bride. Those trips transformed Germany from something I had read about in history books into a place where I could actually walk in the footsteps of the Reformation. Standing in Wittenberg and visiting places associated with Martin Luther made history come alive. Luther was wrestling with a question that many of us still ask:

“Am I good enough for God?”

His discovery in Scripture was that righteousness wasn’t something he could earn. It was something God gave. That became a central message of the Reformation: salvation is God’s gift of grace.

But Lutheranism isn’t really about Martin Luther. Luther was a remarkable man, but he was also a flawed human being. Lutheranism is ultimately about Jesus Christ - his life, death and resurrection and the promise of God’s forgiveness.

Six Weeks in Tanzania

Perhaps the experience that affected my faith most profoundly, however, occurred thousands of miles from Germany. I spent six weeks in Tanzania consulting with the Lutheran Konde Diocese throughout the Southern Highlands. It was the most spiritual experience I have ever encountered. I went to Tanzania believing I had something to offer. Instead, I came home realizing how much I had received.

I witnessed a Lutheran faith that was vibrant and deeply woven into everyday life. The people I encountered had far fewer material possessions than we do, yet their faith, worship, singing, prayer and fellowship were incredibly rich. The church wasn’t simply a building they entered on Sunday.  The church was the people.

And I discovered that the same Gospel I had encountered in Lutheran churches in America and in the historic churches of Germany was truly alive in Tanzania. When I visited twenty years ago, this small country was one of the fastest growing Lutheran populations in the world.

Different language. Different cultures. Different circumstances. But the same Christ. The same grace. The same faith. That experience taught me that Lutheranism is not merely a historical tradition or a set of theological statements. It is a living faith that crosses borders, cultures and centuries.

So, why am I Lutheran?

Because Lutheranism allows me to be honest about who I am. I don’t have all the answers. My faith sometimes wavers. I make mistakes. I am, like everyone else, both saint and sinner. But I don’t have to earn God’s love.

God’s grace comes first.

And because I have received that grace, I am freed to serve, to feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, comfort the lonely, care for my neighbor and invite others to experience the love of Christ. That is what I find so compelling about Lutheranism. It doesn’t tell me, “Try harder so God will love you.” It tells me: God already loves you. Now go and share that love.

My journeys to Germany showed me the roots of my Lutheran faith. My six weeks in Tanzania showed me its remarkable reach and spiritual vitality. And my years in the church have continued to show me its relevance to everyday life. So when someone asks me, “What is a Lutheran?” I have a simple answer:

A Lutheran is a saint and a sinner, saved by grace through faith, centered on Jesus Christ, grounded in Scripture, and freed by God’s grace to love and serve others. And that is why, after all these years, I am still enthralled by being a Lutheran.

Lord’s Peace, Craig