Most church websites include some information about what that church believes, even the most ardent non-denominational church will often post some sort of statement that defines for the curious what to expect from its pastors or people.

For more than 500 years Lutheran Christians have used the trifold phrasing “we believe, teach and confess” to introduce and bind together their confessions of faith. Following Martin Luther’s death in 1546, those who were part of the new confessional movement known as “Lutherans” were often divided from one another over key teachings. By 1577 the Formula of Concord was adopted and has, since that time, become the standard by which a pastor or teacher is judged as genuinely “Lutheran.”

The resulting Formula of Concord used a clear pattern: define the issue, confess the biblical truth, and reject false teachings. The biblical truth was introduced with the words “we believe, teach and confess” while the false teachings were introduced with the words “we reject and condemn.”

Consider these definitions as you contemplate your relationship to the church:

• Believe:

Thomas Jefferson made famous the phrase “we hold these truths to be self-evident.” A belief is something that Christians hold to be true. 

Today the word “believe” is often used as a synonym for “opinion” … as in “you may think a certain thing to be true, but I believe another thing.”  For Lutheran Christians the standard is not our opinion, however well-informed it may be, but rather what is revealed through the Word of God.

• Teach:

Martin Luther was a teacher. Many of the earliest Lutheran confessors were also teachers. Luther told parents that their most important task was to teach the faith to their children. Lutheran Christians, especially those from German backgrounds, opened schools designed to teach children not only what the bible taught, but other subjects as well.
For Lutheran Christians, Bible study is not first some form of self-discovery. Rather, it is an opportunity to be taught and to learn and because of that to teach others, especially our children and grandchildren.

• Confess: 

Public confession, as I shared in a sermon recently, has often fallen out of favor. Many Christians instead seek to share what they personally believe. For more than 500 years Lutheran Christians have made a bold, verbal declaration of their faith and the truth of the Gospel of God’s love revealed in Jesus.

Confession, at least for Lutheran Christians, has also included a clear statement of that which the Bible rejects. This often comes across as judgmental, which is not our intent. It is intended, rather, to help clarify what we believe, teach and confess together.