Why I’m a Lutheran
It’s the 500th anniversary of The Reformation, which is something of a mixed event for me. I’m not one of those “Ah… the blessed Reformers” types who believe The Gospel was buried in a compost pile until Luther and Calvin came along and “rediscovered it”. (Cough, cough, White Horse Inn.) Yes, The Reformation was a good thing, I guess, if you ignore the present terrible state of Protestantism, and frankly that’s somewhat difficult.
Sure Rome has the problematic concept of infused grace but they also don’t have the ELCA or Paul Washer. Point Rome. Sure we have Sola Scriptura but that means we also have the Left Behind series and The Prayer of Jabez for Teens. Point Rome. Sure the papists have Pope Francis (A.K.A. “Frank the Hippie Pope”) but we have Marcus Borg and Mark Driscoll. Point Rome. Oh and Protestantism may also be responsible for the collapse of Western Civilization. Maybe we should keep things a bit in perspective this Reformation Day?
So if I’m less than enchanted with Protestantism why stay? Why not make the Lutheran church a gateway drug to Rome or the East, like so many have done? Here’s a three reasons that I have for happily remaining Lutheran and being thankful for the Reformation.
Lutherans aren’t actually Protestant.
Ok, Lutherans are Protestant if you’re talking in the historical sense. But, in the post-Vatican II world, Lutherans might be more “Catholic” than Papists: We’re a church that believes baptism saves and we baptize babies. We defend the Real Presence in the Sacrament of the Altar (oh! and we have altars not tables). We have real Confession and Absolution (not the lite beer “Assurance of Pardon” the Reformed came up with). Our clergy wears robes, we have a priesthood (even though Americans don’t call it that), we make the sign of the cross a lot, we chant, we hold the feasts, we honor saints, and keep the historic liturgy of the catholic church. All these practices put us in a strange place in the Protestant world. When your average Protestant thinks “Roman Catholic!”, that list is exactly what they’re going to think of; they’re “protesting” all that weird catholic-ish stuff that Lutherans believe and practice.
In my estimation Lutherans are more of a protest movement within the Catholic Church, like sedevacantism; we just caught on to the idea that the Pope was not a firm foundation before they did. We aren’t out to change the church into something new, just correct some of its errors. If you read our confessions, it’s pretty hard to escape that. We just wanted to be good Catholics and the Pope wouldn’t let us. So that’s why we have something called “The Lutheran Church” but we’re really just part of the Catholic Church that the Pope won’t recognize. Fine with me.
So maybe you’re a Protestant who thinks that John Piper is getting a little too hedonistic for comfort, you can’t sing another Chris Tomlin chorus without putting a shotgun in your mouth, you’ve been telling your friends that you’re “on mission” when you really just go home and watch reruns of Arrested Development…
Maybe Rome has been looking awful good? They have those calm, serious priests who wear robes instead of designer jeans; priests who will listen to your confessions of sin and offer absolution. Then you see their reverent, beautiful worship services that don’t look and sound like The Joshua Tree tour… And you get the overall impression that, for Rome, Christianity didn’t begin sometime in the 1980s. Sure Francis is a space-cadet but John Paul II and Benedict seem a lot smarter than the average Evangelical pastor. And you think, “maybe just maybe I want to be a Catholic”.
Look, I’ve been there too but take my advice before you swim the Tiber: Try Lutheranism. We do traditional Catholic better than Rome.
If you’re still on the fence, watch this video:
Done? If you become a Lutheran, you can be catholic but don’t have to say that guy is the Vicar of Christ. Moving on…
Lutherans have the Small Catechism.
I’ve been a Lutheran for about five years now and I gotta say that, when I first started looking into things, the Small Catechism didn’t do much for me. It was just kinda… basic. soft. simple. It didn’t have any of the radical, existential Lutheran theology that had blown my mind.
Fast forward to last week when we read Luther’s explanation of the second article of the creed in my son’s catechism class and I had to choke back tears because it was so beautiful: “I believe that Jesus Christ, true God… true Man… is my Lord.” Not that Jesus Christ is Lord but that he is my Lord.
This is why the 5 Solas of the Reformation, important as they are, kinda leave me cold. For me, the real jewel of the Reformation is Luther’s Small Catechism and what it contains. If you’re looking for radical theology, polemics against the papacy, philosophical statements about the “chief end of man”, even an explanation of justification by faith alone, you’ll be disappointed. Instead, the catechism gives you the simple unqualified words: “Jesus Christ… is my Lord… He has redeemed me, a lost and sinful being.” without qualification, reservation, or doubt. That’s the whole point of the Reformation right there. That’s better than an explanation of Justification by Faith, that is Justification.
For me, the simple confession inside the Catechism is the hill to die on.
Lutherans are the most Christian of all the Churches.
I am a Christian today, not because I think Creation Science is a compelling account of biological origins. I’m not here because I finally understood Alvin Plantinga’s ontological argument. I’m sure I could find something fun to do with my time on Sunday mornings other than singing hymns. I’m not so desperate for a 30-minute oratory that I simply must listen to a sermon. I’m not baptized because it’s the only way I can listen to AirOne radio with a good conscience.
I’m a Christian because I believe Jesus Christ, true God and true Man, is my Lord. I believe everything the Nicene creed says about him. I believe that he is my only hope and the only hope of humanity and creation. That’s it. And, call me crazy, I want to go to a church that is predictability, habitually, institutionally focused on Jesus. And honestly other churches just aren’t as much as the Lutherans.
“Hold on! My evangelical church is focused on Jesus!” you say. “We even say that on our website! See: ‘We are an authentic Christ-Centered Community, bringing God’s love to the world.’”
I believe you, I really do. I’m not trying to imply that you’re a bunch of heretics or that you don’t love Jesus or anything. But there’s this wonderfully weird thing about Lutherans: they are stuck on Jesus. And not just facts about Jesus, or doing things for Jesus, but Jesus for you. I’ve listened to good Lutheran sermons and bad Lutheran sermons but one thing that every single Lutheran pastor seems to know, by training or instinct, is to talk about Jesus Christ. And nobody, Catholic or Protestant, talks about Jesus like Lutherans do. There is an obsession with him that pervades everything from the seminaries, to the liturgy, to the sermons: “You, yes, you in the pew, he forgives you. Trust this. I absolve you of your sin by his command and in his stead. This, yes this bread and this wine, is his body and blood.”
See the doctrine of the incarnation was central for Luther. It preoccupied and dominated his thought. He found God, not in sovereignty and infinite power, but in the weakness of the child in the manger and the wounded man on the cross; and the God who gives his own flesh and blood as food. To this day, the Lutheran church has continued this preoccupation.
This is why I plan on dying in the Lutheran church. I have no interest in swimming the Tiber or any other river. I think both awakenings weren’t all that great. I don’t particularly want verse-by-verse or topical preaching. I definitely don’t need another Hillsong United chorus. I don’t care if I’m “on-mission”. I think your community is lacking in authenticity. I think your vision is cliche. I don’t want to hear what “God” is telling you. I’m not interested in a revival or making a decision for God. Please stop talking about how you’re “Gospel Centered”. I don’t want to be “radical”, “on-fire”, “sold-out”, “crazy-in-Love”, “missional”, “relational”, “contextual” or any other adjective.
I just want to be a Christian. And I need Jesus. Please, just give me Jesus.
On this 500th anniversary of The Reformation I really wish the whole thing hadn’t gone the way it did. I’d love to be a Roman Catholic raising a beer to St. Luther, a doctor of holy mother church who helped correct medieval abuses. I hope that somehow, someday we can patch things up with Rome.
But until then, I’m thankful it happened. I’m grateful that so many people fought and died for this. Because of the Lutheran Reformation, I have a place where I can know, as well as my sinful heart can know, that I am a Christian and Jesus is my Lord. A place where my pastor teaches me and my squirming children to say:
I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, in order that I may be His own, and live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, even as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity.
This is most certainly true.
Thanks, Dr. Luther & Co.
The Swiss Reformers can go suck a lemon.
If you’d like to be a Lutheran too, I’ve got amazing news! For a limited time only, we’re accepting new members. If you’re ever in the Northern California area come say “hi” at Holy Cross Lutheran and we can talk more about this over coffee.
