[Footnote 5: Since a particular Church is no older than her distinctive confession, the Lutheran Church is more than thirty years older than the Roman Catholic Church; for the Augsburg Confession was adopted in 1530, while the Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent, which are the Confession of the Roman Catholic Church, were not completed until 1563. The ecumenical creeds are accepted by both Churches, and therefore prove nothing as regards their relative age.]
THE CHURCH OF THE PURE GOSPEL. The Lutheran Church receives the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the only rule and standard of religious teaching. The Roman Catholic Church accepts the tradition of the Church as of equal authority with the Holy Scriptures.
The Lutheran Church teaches the great central doctrine of the Gospel, that we are saved by faith alone without works. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that we are justified by faith and works.
The Lutheran Church abides by the teachings of Scripture even when she cannot understand them. The other Protestant Churches explain away and reject some teachings of Scripture because they cannot understand them.
HER NAME. The name Lutheran was first given to our Church by her enemies. But she accepted it, because she believes the doctrines which Luther taught. The name which she chose for herself is Evangelical (true to the Gospel). She is now known by both names taken together, Evangelical Lutheran.
WHERE FOUND. The Lutheran Church is found in nearly all parts of the world, especially in Germany, Scandinavia, and the United States. In 1905 she numbered over 73 million baptized members, or practically as many as all the other Protestant Churches taken together. In the United States she has almost two million confirmed members (statistics for 1906), and ranks third in size among the Protestant Churches of the country.
IN AMERICA. The Lutheran Church in North America comprises the following general bodies: The General Synod, organized in 1821; the General Council, organized in 1867; the Synodical Conference, organized in 1872; the United Synod South, organized in 1886. To these general bodies there belong various synods. There are also a number of Independent Synods which are not connected with any general body. Synods are often subdivided into Conferences.
HER WORK. The Lutheran Church, like the Church in general, is to make disciples (Christians) of men. She is all the more bound to do her work, because she is the Church of the Pure Gospel. Her work is done in local congregations, in Home Missions, Foreign Missions, Inner Missions, and in maintaining the necessary institutions of learning (colleges, seminaries, etc.) and of mercy (orphanages, asylums, hospitals).
DUTIES OF HER MEMBERS. It is the duty of her members to lead a Christian life, to be loyal to their own Church, and to co-operate heartily in all her local and general work, for the glory of God and the salvation of immortal souls.
QUESTIONS.—1. What is the Christian Church? 2. Why do we call it the Workmanship of the Holy Ghost? 3. When was it founded? 4. Is the Church visible or invisible? 5. What are the marks of the Church? 6. Why is the Christian Church one? 7. Why is the Church called Holy, Christian, Catholic? 8. What is meant by the Church Militant and the Church Triumphant? 9. What use does the Holy Spirit make of the Church? 10. What are the means which the Church uses for its work? 11. Who are the Church's workmen, and what is their work? 12. Name the four great branches of the Christian Church? 13. How old is the Lutheran Church? 14. What three fundamental principles characterize the Lutheran Church? 15. Explain how the Lutheran Church got its name. 16. Where is the Lutheran Church found? 17. How large is it? 18. Name the General Bodies of the Lutheran Church in North America. 19. Describe the work of the Lutheran Church? 20. What are the duties of her members?