Lutheranism: an Introductory Survey

Lutheranism takes its name from its founder Martin Luther, who challenged the corruption of the late Medieval Catholic Church and inadvertently sparked the Protestant Reformation. Luther’s quest for a gracious God led to his discovery of the biblical presentation that justification in God’s sight comes through faith in Christ rather than by works done to earn divine favor. While justification by faith became the hallmark of the Protestant movement, the development of Lutheranism took a different path with decidedly different emphases than the other major branches of Protestantism. Lutheranism is firmly grounded in the “solas” of the Reformation, sola scriptura, sola gratia, sola fide, solus scripture is the final authority above the Pope and tradition, salvation is by grace alone through faith alone, on the basis of the work of Christ alone. This essay traces the historical and intellectual context which gave birth to the Reformation and particularly Lutheranism and its numerous contributions to Protestant theology, as well as the issues that separate Lutheranism from the other major Protestant traditions.