Canon of Scripture
The Evangelical Lutheran canon of the Holy Scriptures (Bible) completely coincides with the canon of all major Protestant churches and neo-Protestant denominations and consists of the Old and New Testaments
The canon of the Old Testament has 39 books and is identical to the Bible of the Jews, adopted by Judaism in antiquity. The Jewish and Protestant Old Testament canon differs from the Old Testament canon of the Roman Catholic Church. Roman Catholics, as opposed to the Protestants, added to the canon of the Old Testament in the 16th century, the so-called. “deuterocanonical books”, but the Protestant churches reject them as Scripture, because neither Jesus Christ nor his disciples (apostles) don’t ever quoted them as Holy Scripture. Orthodox churches in this part are in solidarity with the Protestants, however, they recommend the “deuterocanonical books” to Orthodox believers for spiritual reading as spiritual instructions. In Lutheranism, the deuterocanonical books of the Bible are referred to as “spurious” or Apocrypha. The Lutheran canon of the New Testament is generally accepted in the Christian world of all historical denominations and contains 27 books.
Confessional books
In Lutheranism, M. Luther is not an infallible interpreter of Scripture. Lutheran theology is based not so much on the theology of M. Luther as on confessional books, the author of which is not only M. Luther. The main book is the Book of Concord. It was published in 1580 and contains a collection of books on dogmatics, including the Apostolic Creed, the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed of the Fathers of the Ancient Church, the Athanasian Creed of the Fathers of the Ancient Church, a book on the authority and primacy of the popes (criticism of the papacy), Catechisms of M. Luther , The Augsburg Confession and other books.
The purpose of its compilation is well defined in the Preface of the Book of Concord, that the German princes, deputies and theologians confirm their allegiance to the Augsburg Confession, in contrast to rumors that the Evangelical dogma changes every year. The princes promise not to persecute the “sincerely erring” who reject the evangelical truths, at the same time it is recommended not to allow the “talkers” to arrange empty disputes, and the theological authority of Martin Luther is also confirmed.
Catholic principles of faith (mysterium fide catholica)
The Evangelical Lutheran Church, like the Church of England, the Evangelical Reformed Church (Presbyterian Church), the Methodist Church, the Baptist Church fully shares the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches regarding the two natures in Christ, accepts the decision of the Nicene Council of 325 on the divine and human nature in Christ, the resolution of the First Council of Constantinople in 381 on the divinity of the Holy Spirit, the doctrine of the Holy Trinity of the great Cappodocians, according to which we confess the Triune God of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; the definitions of Chalcedon in 451, the definition of two wills in Jesus Christ III of the Council of Constantinople in 680. It should be noted that the definitions that, although adopted at the Ecumenical Councils, are recognized by Protestants not by virtue of the authority of the Ecumenical Councils, but by virtue of their correspondence to the Holy Scriptures.
Church hierarchy and laity. The doctrine of the universal priesthood
There are no popes or patriarchs in the Evangelical Lutheran Church, there is no single chief local archbishop or bishop. Each community is autonomous and all communities are organized into unions or religious associations at the level of one country with a formal position at the head of a superintendent, archbishop or bishop. Each local congregation resolves its issues at its meeting, and in the intervals between them, the church council (community council) together with its pastor leads the congregation. Several congregations of one church and one region may be combined into a probst (dean’s office) with a probst (dean) as the spiritual director. It must be borne in mind that the church ministry in Lutheranism differs from the ministry that exists in some traditional churches (especially Orthodox and Roman Catholic).
As with Christians of the 1st-2nd centuries, the pastor (presbyter) in Lutheranism does not differ in his spiritual status from other believers. The Lutheran pastor does not have the rank of “ Ἱερεύς” (in Greek – priest). It is interesting to note that you will not find anywhere in the New Testament a verse where the term “priest” or ” Ἱερεύς” is used in reference to a Christian presbyter or bishop. The early Christians of the 1st-2nd centuries did not have priests (Ἱερεύς). There is one mention in the Synodal Russian Translation of the Bible that an ordained church leader named Timothy received the gift of the “priesthood” (1 Tim. 4:14). However, in the Greek manuscripts of the first epistle to Timothy, the word “presbyter” is used, it means Timothy received the gift of being the “presbyter” (elder) of the community, not the gift of being a priest. Therefore, all known authoritative translations of the Bible into European languages, incl. new Russian translation of the Bible, made by the RBS, translated the verse of 1 Tim. 4:14 according to the Greek manuscripts, removing the word “priesthood” and replacing it with the word “presbyter”.
In the early Church of the 1st-2nd centuries, for example, presbyters and bishops were the same office and these words were synonymous (see Tit. 1:5-7). The book of the Acts of the Apostles, for example, mentions the elders of the city of Ephesus, and they are already referred to in the 20th chapter in verse 28 as “overseers” or in Greek manuscripts as “bishops” (Acts 20:17-18). The term “presbyter” in Greek meant “elder”, and the term “bishop” is in Greek “guardian”. Only in the 2nd century, most likely in the city of Antioch in Asia Minor (modern Turkey), the concepts of presbyter and bishop gradually began to mean different positions, but not yet different ranks. We know this from the letters of Ignatius from Antioch (II century). However, this is not apostolic teaching. The apostles borrowed the institution of elders from the Hebrew public institution of presbyters (elders), which are often mentioned in the gospels and the book of Acts, and not from the institution of the Hebrew “cohens” or “priests” (Ἱερεύς).
The word “pastor” or “shepherd” has been used in Scripture to refer to the leaders of Christian communities. The Apostle Peter calls himself a “fellow pastor” of the pastors of Christian communities, but this word was used not as a job title, but as a synonym for leaders in Christian communities (1 Pet. 5:1), who kept the Christian doctrine. Every believer in the power of baptism is a priest, that is, he does not need intermediaries in his relationship with the Lord and has the right to preach the Word of God. This teaching in Lutheranism is called the doctrine of “the universal priesthood of believers” (cf. 1 Pet. 2:9). However, since order is needed in the church, in order to avoid chaos, the ministry of public preaching and the administration of the sacraments, as a rule, it is entrusted only to pastors (presbyters). In Lutheran theology there is also the doctrine of apostolic succession, but it is thought of as a succession in the correct evangelical teaching according to Scripture, as Christians in the early period of the history of the Church understood succession, and not as an episcopal succession from the twelve apostles, which allows the celebration of the sacraments. There is a teaching among some Christian denominations that the twelve apostles, having received the gifts of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, passed them on to the bishops in the early Church through ordination, incl. a special gift to perform the seven holy sacraments, and this gift can be passed from bishop to bishop over the centuries through ordination, incl. to an ordained “priest,” but this teaching is not found in Scripture or among the early Church Fathers. This is a very late and controversial doctrine, dating back to the III-V centuries.
In the second century, for example, in letters Clement of Rome and Ignatius of Antioch defended the episcopate as a guarantee of order in the churches and continuity in doctrine. Ignatius of Antioch emphasized the episcopate even more strongly, even in the celebration of the Eucharist, which is celebrated correctly with him if it is celebrated by the bishop or some unspecified person to whom the bishop instructs to celebrate it. However, nowhere do they mention the special gift of bishops, which they supposedly receive precisely through ordination. The number of apostles in the New Testament was much more than twelve. The Apostle Barnabas, for example, was not even one of the seventy disciples of Christ, but, being a Jewish Levite from Cyprus, he accepted Christianity after the day of Pentecost and became an apostle. He also ordained elders/bishops (see Acts 4:1-4, 32-37 and 14:14-23). In other words, it is impossible to derive historical episcopal succession from the twelve apostles according to the Bible. The most important church symbol for Lutherans is the Cross. It recalls the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and also tells of His resurrection. In liturgical practice and in the decoration of the church building, modesty and simplicity are practiced, while the presence of candles is allowed, in the form of decorations for altar paintings and paraments, stained-glass windows and special modest vestments for clergy and their assistants.
Holy Sacraments
The Evangelical Lutheran Church recognizes two Holy Sacraments, namely communion and baptism, since they are directly described in Scripture. According to chapter VI of the Little Catechism of M. Luther, the sacrament is the true Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ contained in bread and wine during the divine service, which we, Christians, must eat and drink, according to the establishment of Christ Himself. (Luke 22:19; Matt. 26:28; 1 Cor. 11:24-26).
According to chapter IV of the Little Catechism of M. Luther, in accordance with the words and promises of God, Baptism brings remission of sins, deliverance from death and the devil, and also grants eternal salvation to all who believe. Baptism means that the old man (the old Adam) living in us, with all his sins and evil desires, through daily contrition and repentance, must be immersed under water and put to death, and that in his place a new man must grow daily, who will live forever in righteousness and purity before God.
Confession
According to chapter V of the Little Catechism of M. Luther, confession includes two main parts. First, we confess our sins. Secondly, we accept the forgiveness of sins – that is, their forgiveness – from the pastor, as from God Himself and do not doubt at all, but firmly believe that in this way our sins are forgiven before God in Heaven. Before God, we should confess ourselves guilty of all sins, including those that we are not aware of, just as we do in the Lord’s Prayer. But before the pastor, we should confess only those sins that we recognize and feel in our hearts.
The five fundamental Lutheran principles of faith that divide Protestant and neo-Protestant denominations in the world.
1. Sola scriptura or “Scripture alone”
In the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church and in the Orthodox Churches there are two classical sources of faith: Scripture and Tradition of the Church.New Testament Scripture is also a kind of tradition, and Orthodox theologians and Roman Catholic theologians are right about that.
The Apostle Paul himself wrote about this: “I praise you, brethren, that you remember everything of mine and keep the traditions as I handed them down to you.” (1 Corinthians 11:2). Scripture is written Apostolic Tradition, but there is also “oral Tradition” as taught by some churches. Oral Holy Tradition is the orally handed down heritage of the apostles to their disciples and bishops, who, through episcopal succession, orally handed down the teaching further, and so on to our days. However, in the era of the Reformation, the reformers abandoned such an idea. The Apostolic Letters and other books of the New Testament that have fallen into the canon of Scripture are an attempt not only to select and systematize the Apostolic Tradition, but also to standardize the truths of Divine Revelation. Scripture is the Word of God given by God through people. Everything that did not fall into the canon of Scripture, it means any other “Tradition”, even attributed to the apostles, must pass the test of Holy Scripture. If it fails the scriptural test, then it must be discarded. If the Tradition comes from the pen of an authoritative father of the Church or is written down in the protocols or oras (decisions) of this or that Ecumenical Council, but contradicts Scripture, this is heresy. The Apostle Paul teaches that even if a supernatural being, for example, the heavenly angel himself teaches something other than what is written in Scripture, this is heresy (Gal. 1:8). This is what Scripture itself tells us, including in relation to “oral Tradition”, which must be verified, and in which case it should be clothed: “All Scripture is divinely inspired and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. .” (2 Pet 1:21).
Anti-biblical and even anti-scientific church traditions often create unresolved obstacles to understanding the true teaching of Christ and the apostolic heritage, since contradict not only the Bible, but natural history and biblical studies, which also hinders evangelization in the modern world, where the level of education among the population is much higher than it was in the Middle Ages and in antiquity. In the 16th century, Protestants abandoned numerous church rules and teachings arising from the unconfirmed “oral Tradition” attributed to the apostles. In Judaism, for example, there was and is also “Holy Tradition” or “the unwritten Torah from Moses”, which Jesus Christ associated with “human tradition” and often condemned it. (Matthew 15:2-3,6; Mark 7:3,5,8-8,13).
The basis of the doctrine of the Lutheran Church is only the Bible – the only source and firm standard of church doctrine and activity.
2. Sola fide or “only faith”
A Christian, according to Scripture, receives the forgiveness of sins only by faith in the substitutionary and redemptive sacrifice of Christ on the cross for the sins of all people, regardless of their good deeds and deeds. Lutherans do not devalue good works, but they deny their biblical significance as a source or condition for the salvation of soul and body (Rom. 5:1-2). In 1999, the Roman Catholic and Evangelical Lutheran churches signed a common declaration of faith, according to which both positions in understanding salvation through faith in Christ came closer.
3. Sola gratia or “only grace”
Salvation comes through faith only as God’s grace, as an undeserved mercy to man from the Lord, and not as something deserved by a sinner, according to which God is obliged to issue permission for salvation. According to biblical texts, salvation is possible only through faith, and faith is a gift from God for the sake of Jesus, i.e. faith arises in the sinner not by his will, but by the grace and discretion of God (Eph. 1:4).
4. Solus Christus or “only Christ”
Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and man and that salvation is possible only through faith in Him (Acts 4:10-12; John 14:14). No wonder Scripture, when it speaks of a single mediator between God and man, speaks of Christ as a man, although he was both man and God at the same time (1 Tim. 2:5). This means that only Christianity can guarantee the salvation of both soul and body to a person, and also that the cult of saints, which is developed in a number of Christian denominations as a cult of prayer intermediaries between God and man, has no biblical roots and is a later teaching borrowed from paganism of the ancient world. The well-known church historian Eusebius of Caesarea (4th century AD) directly wrote in his “Church History” that many Christians “according to pagan superstition” venerate the surviving image of Paul, Peter and Christ himself on the boards. If you look at the natural history of the development of the cult of holy mediators, then neither in the 1st century, nor in the 2nd century AD biblical scholars have not found any mention of icons in Christian sources, nor a prayer appeal to any saint for mediation. St. Justin the Philosopher (2nd century AD), revered in both the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, wrote that Christians in his time did not venerate statues, did not use incense, and did not crown any statues, unlike pagans . The oldest Christian icons that have come down to us date only to the 6th century AD, and it’s made in the encaustic technique (the binder of paints is wax) on a wooden base, which makes them related to Egyptian-Hellenistic art or the so-called “Fayum portraits”. Saint Clement of Alexandria (2nd century AD) wrote that Christians give praise to God without depicting God or anyone. This ancient tradition in the understanding that only Christ is the only mediator between people and the Lord, according to the teaching of the apostles and the early Church Fathers, has been shared since the 16th century by Evangelical Lutheran theology. In the Apology of the Augsburg Confession of F. Melanchthon in art. XXII “On the Invocation of the Saints” it is said that the Lutheran Church demonstrates to us its unambiguously approving attitude towards the ancient church practice of venerating saints, not as prayer intermediaries, but as examples of mercy, as those who strengthen our faith by their example.
5. Soli Deo gloria or “glory to God only”
This principle of Christian faith implies that only God should be worshipped. This rules out worshiping anyone other than God in Three Persons and praying to anyone other than God. There is an interesting example in the Bible of incorrect veneration of representatives of the divine worlds. So the early Christian prophet and writer John, the author of the Apocalypse, experienced the mystical experience of meeting with the angel of God and each time fell on his knees before him, revering him as a representative of God and Christ, but each time the angel forbade this, referring that he was only a servant and to him one cannot even bow down as a servant of God (Rev. 19:10 and 22:9). In ancient Israel, for example, cherubim were depicted on the ark of the Lord and in the tabernacle, but none of the ancient Jews had the idea to honor, kiss and perform religious rites in their address, as servants of the Lord in heaven (Ex. 25:18; 26:1 ).