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What the Lutheran Church Teaches and Believes
How can I be sure I will go to heaven when I die?

There are three possible answers to this important question:
  1. I can choose not to believe in heaven at all; but if I die and find that there is a heaven and I am not there, then it will be too late.
  2. I can try to get there by my own efforts. This is the answer of every religion except Christianity.
  3. I can believe that God himself gives me heaven for the sake of one who earned it for me. That someone is Jesus Christ.
The third answer is that of the universal Christian Church. The goal of the Lutheran Church is to preserve this answer (called the "Gospel") in all its truth and purity.

The Difference between the Law and the Gospel
The difference between answers 2 and 3 is called the difference between the Law and the Gospel.
The Law is what I must do for God to earn my way to heaven.
The Gospel is what God does for me to give me heaven.
To get to heaven by my own efforts requires keeping the Law, doing my best, being perfect. But the Bible teaches that under the Law all men are sinners and no one can make themselves good enough to be acceptable to God. So no one can be sure they will make it to heaven by their own efforts.

The Gospel is what God has done for all mankind in sending his Son, Jesus Christ, to keep the Law perfectly on our behalf and pay the penalty for sin by dying on the Cross for the forgiveness of our sin and rising from the dead to give us the assurance that believers in him will also rise from the dead and join him in heaven.

God himself enables people to believe this by the power of his Word given in the Bible by the gift of the Holy Spirit.

All Christian churches teach faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. The trouble is that many of them confuse the Law and the Gospel, and so leave people in doubt as to how to get to heaven.

Confusing the Law and the Gospel
The church of Martin Luther's day 500 years ago taught that Christ did his part in saving man from his sinful nature, but we must do our part by earning forgiveness for sinful acts by doing what the church tells us to do. If I do not then Jesus will come as a judge to condemn me. This confuses the Law and Gospel. Do I trust in Jesus or myself or both? But if I am a sinner I cannot do my part and that leaves my salvation in great doubt.

Many churches today teach that Jesus saves us, but all I MUST do for him is "accept him as my personal Lord and Savior". But if I do that I am saying I will try to do everything else he tells me to do, and I cannot do that either. If I am a sinner, then I cannot do either what the church or what Jesus tells me to do perfectly, even if I try as hard as I can to please God.

Salvation by Grace through Faith
Martin Luther rediscovered the truth of the Gospel in the Bible 500 years ago, which sparked the Reformation of the Christian Church in Europe and America. He taught that the assurance of getting to heaven comes to us as a gift of God's Grace expressed in the love and sacrifice of Jesus through a faith which he gives to us to believe that Jesus did it for all who believe in him.

Luther taught that God uses three Means of Grace - three visible instruments to give us that assurance: the Bible, Baptism and the Lord's Supper.

The Bible
Lutherans believe that the Bible is the only Word of God revealed to mankind in all its truth and purity.

God
The Bible reveals that God is "Triune", Father, Son and Holy Spirit - three persons in one being - who has created the universe, saves us through the Son, and makes us holy only through faith granted by the Holy Spirit. This Word consists of God's Law, summarized by the Ten Commandments, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, telling of his life, death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins, eternal life and salvation from death and hell.

Mankind
Lutherans believe from the Bible that mankind is born with a sinful nature and commits sinful acts in thought, word and deed; and therefore cannot possibly do enough to earn God's favor no matter how well intentioned he may be or how hard he tries.

Sin
Sin is every thought, word and deed done contrary to God's will. It is everything from taking a bite of an apple to committing murder, or even being tempted to do so, against God's will. It is also the refusal to do the good God demands in loving others.

Law
The Law is everything one must do to ensure that he is a good person, good citizen, good neighbor and good believer in God. It is everything from keeping the Ten Commandments to stopping at every stop sign. The threefold purpose of the Law is to act as a curb, a mirror and a guide. Most churches use the Law to direct Christians on how to make themselves better. As sinners we are in constant need of self improvement, and we should always try to do our best in whatever we do. But we can never be good enough. The most important function of the Law is to show us our sin so that we seek God's mercy and forgiveness in the Gospel.

Gospel
The Gospel is all that God does for us purely out of his own love and mercy without any merit or worthiness in us. In love God creates us and gives us life. In love God preserves us and gives us the many blessings of this life. Most important, in love God gives us forgiveness for our sins, eternal life and salvation because of what Christ did for us in dying on the Cross and rising again.

Conversion
Conversion, or "being born again", begins with Confession, which consists of two conditions: Sorrow for sin, and faith that receives forgiveness. Conversion is often confused with "repentance". God wants all men to repent of their sins and keep his Law perfectly. But sin prevents anyone from true repentance. Instead of repenting we fall again and again into temptation and rebellion against God. In John chapter 3 Jesus teaches that "being born again" is a gift of God, just as our first birth is a gift of God. In conversion God himself by the power of the Holy Spirit using the Word and Sacraments brings people to faith in the Son of God to grant us forgiveness of sin and true repentance.

The Sacrament of Holy Baptism
Baptism is not Law - something man must do for God. When Jesus says, "Believe and be baptized," he is not giving us an "11th Commandment" as if by this we could make up for the other 10 we cannot keep. He is giving us an invitation and a gift to be cleansed of our sin and believe a promise through a faith which only he can give by the Holy Spirit. Just as we are made citizens by birth, we are made citizens of the Kingdom of God by new birth in Christ. John chapter 3 makes it clear we are born again only by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper
"This is my body…and my blood given for you for the forgiveness of sins". Once again Jesus offers us a gift this time of a sacrificial meal in which he invites us to go to the Cross with him in faith as he gives his body and blood for our salvation. To do this in his remembrance is not to follow a command but to receive an invitation to a meal he himself has prepared for us for the assurance of eternal life with him. This is the essence of the Gospel, yet many churches turn it into Law. We have assurance of salvation only in what Christ did for us, not anything we must do for God.

Creeds
Lutherans join with all Christians who confess the three universal, ecumenical creeds - The Apostles, the Nicene and the Athanasian - as brief, concise statements which unite Christians in a common understanding of what Christians believe and teach. Without such statements many believe and teach anything they wish and still call themselves "Christian".

The Lutheran Confessions is a collection of documents which are intended to unite all believers in doctrines such as those outlined above which seek to eliminate false and heretical teachings among Christian denominations.