Where to start - God

ARTICLES OF FAITH AND DOCTRINE

I. God

            The nature of God is one of the central questions of Christianity. In fact, it was one of the most important issues that the first Christians dealt with in their attempts to define Christianity. This makes it all the more astounding and frustrating that so many Christian are sloppy, to say the least, with what they say about God. From the very beginning Christians have insisted that the one thing that sets us apart is our understanding of God. An understanding not only informed or shaped by Scripture, but one that is revealed to us by God himself and given to us in Scripture.

            Contrary to what some people say these days, the Reformers did not change Scripture or redefine what the Bible says. Just the opposite, they wanted to show that they were not breaking with a traditional Christian understanding of God. To do this they began their statement of faith by referencing ancient and accepted statements about God.

“We unanimously hold and teach, in accordance with the decree of the Council of Nicaea.”

Preface to the Augsburg Confession, Part 2

            The German leaders who supported Luther went to Augsburg and brought several of their best theologians along to speak for them. Chief among them was Philipp Melanchthon, Luther’s right hand man and having earned his Master’s Degree at the age of 15 generally considered one of the smartest people you could ever hope to meet. Luther could not attend because there was a warrant for his arrest. So during the Diet, as they called meetings in German at that time, Melanchthon would send a message to Luther outlining what happened that day and by morning he would have Luther’s response and advice.

            The tone of the Augsburg Confession is set in the Preface. The reformers wanted peace, but not at the expense of truth. They emphasized their agreements with Rome on key issues.

            The Augsburg Confession is not Philipp Melanchthon or Martin Luther’s personal beliefs. The German political leaders who signed the Confession wrote, “We offer and present a confession of our pastors’ and preachers’ teaching and of our own faith, setting forth how and in what manner, on the basis of the Holy Scriptures, these things are preached, taught, communicated, and embraced in our lands, principalities, dominions, cities and territories.” This is the common confession of all who would later become known as Lutherans.

            While the political leaders and theologians who supported Luther at Augsburg wanted peace the end of the Preface states in no uncertain terms that they would never forsake the truth for the sake of peace. “To these we declare our continuing adherence, and we shall not be turned aside from our position by these or any following negotiations.”