“Who am I?”
And,
“Who is God?”
As we begin to explore either one of these questions, we inevitably start to learn the answer to the other. For we cannot understand who we are without reference to our Creator, and also, as we learn about our Creator, we also come to learn things about ourselves, for we were made in His image; to reflect Him and His ways.
But before we can begin learning about ourselves and God, we must first establish how to get accurate information about these subjects. For there are many people in this world offering contradictory answers because they take different approaches and rely on different sources.
As Christians, we look first to what God Himself has revealed to us in His Word. We look to the written word of God as the final authority. Since the Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16), we know it is a more reliable and authoritative source of truth than anything else.
For this reason, we will subject all other potential methods of discovering truth to Scripture. It is not that we cannot discover truths outside of Scripture, but since we are fallible humans, it is best to subject our own discoveries and reasoning to a source of truth that is infallible.
Even if our own reasoning leads us in another direction, we will go with what God says instead of what seems right to us. For it is safer to trust in God than ourselves.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.”
(Proverbs 3:5-6)
What does Scripture reveal about humanity?
Here are three main points about humanity that can be found in Scripture:
The third point is some very good news, but to fully understand what makes it such good news, we have to look at the second point with greater depth. Think about how a doctor treats a patient. Before a doctor can help someone who is sick, he has to take a good look at the person in their illness in order to get a diagnosis. The sick person has to be willing for the doctor to examine just how serious the sickness is in order to treat them.
In the same way, part of how God delivers salvation to us involves showing us how serious our condition is. If we do not first realize how sick we are, we are not likely to go to the one who can make us well.
As Jesus said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17)
Scripture makes clear that our condition since the fall of Adam is not good. We are all “under sin” as the Apostle Paul puts it. Further, it is said of us all:
“None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
“Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
in their paths are ruin and misery,
and the way of peace they have not known.”
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
(Romans 3:10-18)
We are also called “slaves to sin” (Romans 6:20),
And also,
“Dead in trespasses and sins… …children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:1-3)
Prior to the grace of God working in our lives, we are hostile to God, unable and unwilling to submit to Him. We are His enemies.
While we may convince ourselves and others that we are ‘good people’, at the core of our being, we are corrupted by sin. Even our best virtues are tainted with some evil, and none of our good deeds can outweigh the evil ones.
The only thing we deserve is condemnation. This is the ugly diagnosis of the human condition, which many refuse to acknowledge.
But when we acknowledge our disease, we are ready for the cure.
Although humanity had fallen, and become captives of sin and the devil, God did not give up on us. He came “to seek and save that which was lost”.
In order to free us from our bondage, God would need to deal with sin. This He accomplished by sending His Son to take on flesh (a human body, and a human nature like ours), upon which the sin of the world would be placed. Jesus Christ offers Himself to God as sacrifice on our behalf, and this atones for our sin.
Christ had to become a human, as Scripture says:
“So that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” (Hebrews 2:17)
As a person who is both God and Man, Jesus is the perfect mediator between God and Man.
Our sin had made it impossible for us to be near to God, for God is Holy, and anything impure in His presence is destroyed. If we, in our sinful condition, were to come near to God without any sort of protection or atonement being made for us, God’s Holiness would destroy us. Jesus’ death covers our sin so that we can once again draw near to God. What was lost in the garden with Adam and Eve is restored through the work of Jesus.
After Jesus was crucified, raised from the dead, and ascended into heaven, his followers began spreading the good news of what he had done. In response, people began asking, “what must we do to be saved?”
This is a good question to ask, and we should look at how the Apostle Peter answers their question:
“Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38)
Elsewhere, Scripture explains that there is really nothing we must do to merit salvation - it is a free gift which God offers to us. Jesus’ suffering on our behalf is what merits salvation, and we simply have to trust in the work he performed. (Romans 3:23-25, Ephesians 2:8).
Why then, does Peter tell the crowd to be baptized, if salvation is to be received by faith? Why doesn’t Peter just say “Believe in Jesus and you will be saved!”
Clearly, by asking Peter what they must do, they had already believed. If they didn’t believe what Peter had told them about Jesus, they would not be asking Peter how to be saved. But Peter points them toward the sacrament of baptism, because there is a promise of salvation connected to it.
In baptism, it is not that we are doing some work in order to earn salvation. As stated previously, it is not our work, but Christ’s which merits salvation. But for those who desire to receive what Christ has merited for them, God has given baptism as the appointed means of initiation into this state of grace. God delivers the free gift of salvation to us, through the means of baptism.
Scripture teaches both of these truths, (See Ephesians 2:8 and also 1 Peter 3:21) so as Bible-belieivng Christians, we ought to be comfortable affirming both of these truths as well.
However, there are many today, especially in Baptist, Pentecostal, or ‘non-denominational’ traditions, who argue that baptism is not connected to or required for salvation, and should only be thought of as an ‘outward sign of an inward reality ’.
This makes sense to a lot of people, but unfortunately, it's not what the Bible teaches.
This is a harmful teaching, for it reduces baptism to a mere symbol, robbing it (in the minds of believers, but not in reality) of the many blessings God intends to give us through it. By downplaying the significance of baptism, many even put it off entirely, perhaps even becoming regular church-attenders for years without ever being baptized.
(This is not to say that these groups are not Christian, just that they have a deficient view of baptism.)
In the sacrament of baptism, it is not we who perform some work, but God. In baptism, God miraculously unites us to Christ (Romans 6:3-6), and bestows the Holy Spirit, who comes to indwell us (Acts 2:38). God saves us through baptism (1 Peter 3:21), washing away our sins and regenerating us (Acts 22:16, Titus 2:5).
And since even Jesus said that we must be “born again of water and Spirit” (John 3:5) if we wish to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, we should not downplay the significance of baptism, imagining that what Scripture teaches about baptism somehow contradicts what Scripture teaches about justification by faith alone.
Truthfully, if anyone desires to be saved, they should not only be baptized but should also be instructed in the faith, just as those whom Peter told to be baptized afterward devoted themselves to the Apostles' teaching (Acts 2:42). Being a disciple is the same as becoming a student and learning what it means to follow Christ. This is not making ‘discipleship’ a work that must be perfomed for salvation. However, the Christian life is more than just a one-time decision, and then going about your life as you had before.
In addition to downplaying the significance of baptism, many churches fail to properly instruct their members in the faith. While the journey begins with coming to faith in Christ and being baptized, there is much to learn, and Jesus expects his followers to be members of a church, to receive proper instruction.
We can see this in the way Jesus commissioned his followers to go into the world to make disciples, “baptizing them in the name of Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20)
So, becoming a Christian consists of this: baptism and instruction. And this should be done in a church with ordained ministers, who have been trained to faithfully teach Scripture. Additionally, followers of Christ should be nourished not only with the Word, but with the sacrament of communion - the body and blood of Christ.
The Lutheran Church is the best when it comes to teaching Scripture and administering the sacraments (baptism and communion), and for this reason, it is the best place for those who are sincerely seeking to follow Christ to become members.
Some would disagree with that statement, but as seen in the subject of baptism, many groups ignore or explain away the passages that connect it to salvation, while Lutherans are comfortable simply believing what the Bible teaches about it.
Baptism is not the only subject like this, where groups tend to explain away what Scripture teaches. For details about Lutheran doctrine, and how it stays closer to Scripture than other groups, I invite you view these resources:
If you are interested in visiting a Lutheran Church, you can use this tool to find one near you: