Summarizing our faith

A concise explanation is going to vary from one person to another, and the information I want to pass along to you would probably not fit the definition of being concise. In addition, the explanation of what it means to be a WELS Lutheran would undoubtedly be more meaningful to people if you came up with that explanation yourself.

With those thoughts in mind, let me pass along a couple of resources that summarize what we believe. The first resource is a section of this web site titled “What the Bible and Lutherans teach.” This link will take you to that section. While there are almost 30 different subjects that are treated, you could condense the list of subjects to come up with a more concise explanation of our faith.

A second resource is a book titled “Positively Lutheran: a simple statement of what Lutherans believe.” It is available from Northwestern Publishing House via this link. That resource would also give you content with which to formulate a concise explanation of our faith.

What you will probably discover is that the explanation of your faith may not be as concise as you would like. Why is that? Christian faith encompasses so many subjects that are in the Bible. But if you want to get really concise, you could point to the three solas (“alone”) of the Lutheran Reformation: by grace alone, by faith alone, by Scripture alone. God’s grace, his undeserved love for sinners, is the reason for providing salvation. We enjoy salvation only through faith in Jesus Christ and not because of anything we do or don’t do. Scripture alone is the source of our faith.

I hope this information will be helpful to you. Welcome to our family of believers!