FAQ

1.  What is a Christian?

A Christian is,  1.) a disciple of Jesus Christ,   2.) one who confesses that Jesus Christ  is the Son of God/God in the flesh, and that Jesus is his own personal Lord and Savior  3.) one whose life is submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ,   4.) one in whom the spirit of Jesus Christ lives.

A true Christian does not just say these things; as Jesus himself said, a person is to show fruit (proof) in his actions  that he has truly repented of his sin and turned to God.  You will be able to “see Christ” in the life, attitude, and actions of a true Christian. 

What a Christian is NOT ?  Not every religious person  is a Christian. there are many different religions.  There is only one Jesus Christ; God in the flesh who died for the sins of the world.  No one is a Christian just because they say they are.  A person is not a Christian just because they attend a certain church.

No one is a Christian just because their parents were, or because they were born in a “Christian nation.”  If someone is a true Christian, they will not claim that in order for anyone to be saved or in order to go to heaven, they must accept some other prophet  in addition to Jesus Christ.  One in whom Christ truly dwells knows they need no other prophet, apostle, priest, enlightened one, or anyone or anything else in addition to Jesus Christ to have salvation and go to heaven. 

2.  How does one become a Christian?

In the New Testament entire families were “baptized into Christ.”  This included their children.  We also know from the Bible that John the Baptist was full of the Holy Spirit in his mother’s womb - even before birth.  Being full of the Holy Spirit is a term and experience unique only to Christians.  No Christian scholar (in his right mind) would argue over the spiritual condition of John the Baptist.  He was the cousin of Jesus Christ, who the Bible tells us was sent to prepare the way for Jesus.  He even baptized Jesus.  Dare anyone question Jesus about letting John the Baptist baptize him?  But, we have no record of  a “born again” experience of John the Baptist in which he prayed a “sinner’s prayer.”

Millions of Christians hold to the scriptural practice of baptizing their babies “into Christ.”  Jesus told  a man named Nicodemus that to enter the kingdom of heaven he must be born again. So “born again” is a scriptural term.  And how was this rebirth to take place? Jesus answered that it was by water and the Spirit; the water of baptism and the Spirit of God.  We believe that as the word of God is spoken over the child the Spirit of God is imparted to this helpless child - resulting in present tense salvation.

But there are billions of people who were not fortunate enough to be born to parents who believed in Christ and thus did not take them to the baptismal fount for the spirit of God to be imparted to them.  What about them?  Then, just as for Nicodemus, they must still be born again.  They still need the water and the Spirit. The word of God teaches clearly that for an adult to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ one must: admit that he is a sinner, repent of his sins,  and accept the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  He should then make his faith public in those waters of baptism.

Admitting that one is a sinner and repenting of his sin is done in the context of prayer.  You should get alone and just talk to God.  There is an excellent example in the bible where a man prayed “Lord have mercy on me a sinner.”

There is no magic formula to be prayed, it is a matter of pouring your heart  out to God in complete sincerity.  If you are unsure about doing all of this alone, it is a good idea to find a Christian you respect and ask them to pray with you to become a Christian.

Jesus also said something very challenging about being a believer (disciple of his).  He said “If you do not confess me before men, I will not confess you before my Father in heaven.”  So, it is important to let others know that you are now a disciple of Christ.  Actually, if you have a real life changing conversion to Christ - you will want to tell people about it!

It is not necessary for salvation, but it is important for spiritual growth, that a new believer in Christ get into fellowship with other believers, that he learn how to pray, and above all that he learn the word of God (the Bible) and let it work in his life.

Go back to our homepage and the link “to know Christ click here.”

3.  Who are Lutherans?

First and foremost, Lutherans are Christians,  those who believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of  God, is the only Savior of the world. We confess faith in no other messiah, savior, prophet or apostle, or “enlightened one.”    Lutherans believe  the Bible is God’s inerrant word, is the revelation of God, the authority for how we are to live and conduct ourselves in our personal lives as well as in the church.   There is no book or writings that hold more authority than God’s Holy word - the Bible.  Regardless of what any man teaches concerning God, it is God’s Word that is the final answer.

4.  So isn’t it enough to just believe the Bible?

Yes.  By all means, believe the Bible for a revelation of Christ leading to salvation.  But when it comes to doctrinal matters there has always been disagreement. Since the first century,  there have been arguments over how to interpret certain bible doctrines.  These disagreements are still so evident in our world today by the myriad of different Christian denominations. Every Christian denomination claims they believe the Bible.  Yet, they teach something different from the other Christians.  Lutherans don’t just believe every new teaching that comes along.  All the major various doctrinal teachings were addressed by Dr. Luther and councils conducted by the church fathers.  So we also hold to the three ecumenical creeds: the Apostle’s Creed, the Nicene Creed and the Athanasian Creed.  Each of these creeds deals with basic important doctrinal positions that were adopted by the Christian church long ago, because of controversies which arose from splinter groups teaching a new “revelation.”  We incorporate these creeds into our liturgical worship, as a statement on where we stand on these age old issues.

  We believe: Salvation is through faith alone, in Christ alone, by grace alone, as revealed in the Word alone.

 5.  What is Lutheran worship like?

We are a liturgical church.  Liturgy = a body of rites prescribed for public worship.  Our program of  Divine Worship service is planned and written out in advance in our Order of Worship.  Most of our liturgies (written order of worship) date back to the time of the Reformation.  However, we do seek to be contemporary and incorporate modern music.  But our liturgies are full of the word; scripture lessons read, responsive readings, confessions, etc...

Part of being a liturgical church is observing the church year.  Please visit links to this site which explain in detail the liturgical year etc...  In a Lutheran sanctuary you will notice the colors corresponding with the church year.  We observe special holy days and seasons in the year. The colors will be present on the altar, lectern, pulpit and banners.  The minister also wears the appropriate coordinating colors.

Our Divine Worship service is a special time set aside for nothing less than the exaltation of Christ.  We do this in a very respectful manner, coming into His presence by grace embracing His forgiveness and goodness - in the utmost reverent attitude and posture, heaping praise upon Him.

Then we should all remember that our lives are to be a witness of our adoration of Him. Christ can be worshipped any time and anywhere that you can praise Him. Divine Worship should not be the only time we praise Him.

Sunday is however that special day each week, in observance of Christ’s resurrection, that we gather for special corporate worship.  We believe we should make it as special as possible - through our biblical liturgical worship handed down to us over the centuries.

On our links page we have a couple sites which explain in detail  the liturgical year and colors etc...

6.  Why does the pastor dress that way?

“That way”  would be referring to the wearing of ministerial vestments.  Vestments are special ceremonial outer garments worn by the pastor for a special occasion to perform a special service.  Vestments in no way mean that anyone wearing them is better or more spiritual than anyone else.  In our tradition we believe that the pastor is performing a very special service in the administering of the sacraments and in the proclaiming of the word.  There are varying opinions on the origins of the various vestments, but they all share in common the idea that in the observance of a very special occasion - the corporate worship of our Lord - the one leading should not dress in ordinary attire.  Clothes are a phenomenon  when it comes to expecting certain things from the wearer.  Culturally, we expect a businessman to dress a certain way, medical professionals to dress a certain way, farmers to dress a certain way, etc... Historically in churches that came out of the reformation - but did not go the route of rejecting everything from their past, we respect the idea that one who is leading us in worship dresses in a way that says to us - he is set aside for this special purpose,  “What he is doing is special.”

There are many optional pieces of attire that fall into the category of vestments. There is the alb, surplice, tippet, cope, chasuble, amice, etc.... Sometimes special occasions mandate certain articles, other times it is simply personal preference in what you may see from one local church to another.  One thing that is common among them however is the stole.  The stole is the sign of ordination.  Only some one who has been ordained into the gospel ministry should wear the stole.  The stole is the colored band worn around the neck hanging down in the front, in the appropriate liturgical color.  It is reminiscent of Old Testament references to a mantle of God’s anointing on prophets.

Most ministers of liturgical churches wear a clergy collar when they are involved in the active work of the ministry.  The clergy collar is not itself a vestment.  It is considered everyday wear.  The collar has a long and unclear history.  There are varying opinions on its origin.  But even in our modern times a clergy collar is still universally recognized as a sign of one who is authorized to minister the word and sacraments. 

For more information about vestments and clergy attire please see Ken Collins’ site on our links page.

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