Ultimately, as followers of Jesus, we should seek to belong to the nearest Church in our area that best helps us follow Christ. This entails that the Church should faithfully teach us the Word of God and administer the sacraments. We believe the Lutheran Church does this the best.
Continue reading the article below to find out more about the Lutheran Church and what makes it unique, or click here for a larger collection of resources (videos and more) about the Lutheran Church.
The church is the body of Christ, and anyone who desires to be a Christian should also seek to become a member of a church. When we are baptized into Christ, we are being united to Christ along with everyone else who is “in Christ.” It’s not just a “Me and Jesus” kind of arrangement.
“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit… …Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:12-13, 27)
It is clear from Scripture that God intends for His people to be in community with one another, where individuals can belong to a larger body both to serve and to be served.
The notion of a “lone wolf” Christian is not biblical. We need to be around other Christians, and we especially need to be under leaders who can teach us, keep us accountable, and administer the sacraments. We learn in Ephesians 4 that Jesus gives gifts to the Church, in the form of people who occupy certain offices or roles, for the purpose of building it up.
“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” (Ephesians 4: 11-16)
We all have gifts we have been given, and they are meant to be used for the good of the whole body. By not being a member of a church, we can fail at effectively using our own gifts to serve others, and we also miss out on the good things that Christ has equipped others with that can be used to help us.
As individuals, we need the church, and the church needs us.
We see in the quote above that Christ gave certain offices/roles to the church. Five are mentioned in this instance: “He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, and teachers”.
In that same letter (Ephesians), Paul explains that the Church is an ongoing project being built by God (as Christ promised in Matthew 16, “I will build my church”) and Christ himself is the ‘cornerstone,’ with apostles and prophets being the ‘foundation’ (See Ephesians 2:19-22).
The foundation has been laid, as we are now coming up on close to 2,000 years of Christ building his church. Therefore, there are no longer prophets and apostles today, and those who claim these titles are misguided at best, and at worst, they are false teachers or con artists trying to claim some higher authority for themselves by adopting those titles.
So out of the five roles mentioned, the ones that remain are “evangelists, shepherds, and teachers.” Evangelists function primarily in mission contexts, bringing the gospel to new people groups and planting churches. This leaves the primary roles in the local church of shepherds/teachers. These are the standard roles of vocational ministry.
The Augsburg Confession helpfully explains why Jesus instituted the ministry:
“That we may obtain this faith, the Ministry of Teaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments was instituted. For through the Word and Sacraments, as through instruments, the Holy Ghost is given, who works faith; where and when it pleases God, in them that hear the Gospel.”
And also,
“Also they teach that one holy Church is to continue forever. The Church is the congregation of saints, in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered.” (Augsburg Confession, articles V and VII)
In the Church, we have shepherds/teachers assigned by Christ to the task of teaching the Word and administering the sacraments (baptism and communion). So, when looking for a church, we should seek a church in which qualified ministers are faithfully performing these tasks (rightly teaching the Gospel and administering the sacraments).
In his letter to the Galatians, the Apostle Paul warns that if anyone teaches “another Gospel” beside the one he taught them, that person should be considered ‘anathema’ or accursed (cut off from God). In this severe pronouncement, we see that there is a serious danger of getting the gospel wrong, and we see the Apostles warning and correcting people over and over again in the New Testament. This is because the Gospel is the power of God for salvation (Romans 1:16) and Satan is doing everything he can to distort or distract from that message.
Perhaps the main threat, or the most common way people mess up and begin teaching or believing in “another gospel,” is by beginning to look to something other than the all-sufficient suffering of Christ on their behalf and his imputed righteousness received by faith.
The true Gospel of Christ includes the promise of salvation, not by our own works, but by what Christ has done. He is the one who has won salvation for us, and this salvation is a free gift to be received by faith. It is not something we are supposed to attempt to earn by our own good works or obedience.
Aside from getting the message wrong in this crucial way, some churches are distracted with messages of self-help. Seeing no need to preach the same message week after week (the Gospel), and being focused on worldly advancement, their teaching devolves into messages about becoming a better person or “living your best life now.”
People often love these kinds of messages because people love being told how to improve their lives. But again, this subtly takes our attention off of Christ and encourages us to focus on what we can do to make our lives better. This is another tactic of the devil, to get us focused on improving our lives through practical self-help methods, rather than focusing on the Gospel.
While there is certainly a place for teaching people how to rightly live, loving God and neighbor, and bearing much fruit in this life, this sort of teaching must be understood as secondary to the Gospel. For these things naturally flow out of constantly abiding in Christ (John 15). Too often, these things become the primary focus, and are pursued apart from Christ and his Gospel.
First, we should examine whether or not they are being administered at all.
There are many churches within the broad ‘Evangelical’ movement, that put very little emphasis on the sacraments. They wrongly view them as mere symbols or acts of obedience, and for this reason all of the focus is placed elsewhere - usually on the sermon and/or the worship music.
Scripture teaches that the sacraments of baptism and communion are not mere symbols, but are means by which God delivers the forgiveness of sins. They are to be central to our worship, not something we only occasionally think about.
For more on the sacraments, I would direct the reader to this compilation of resources, especially the section about the sacraments.
Among the many Christian denominations, the Lutheran Church, particularly the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), is renowned for its commitment to rightly administering the Word and Sacraments. The Lutheran tradition places a strong emphasis on adhering closely to the teachings of Scripture and the confessions of faith as outlined in documents such as the Augsburg Confession and the Book of Concord. These texts provide clear guidance on the proper teaching of the Gospel and the correct administration of the Sacraments.
In summary, the Lutheran Church’s dedication to Scriptural fidelity and the right administration of the Sacraments provides a solid foundation for Christian faith and life, helping believers to grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Jesus taught,
"Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required." (Luke 12:48)
Ignorance about these topics in past eras can be overlooked and forgiven. But today, we have the privilege of unprecedented access to information about these topics. This is an incredible gift, but at the same time, we have been entrusted with an immense responsibility.
Therefore, as an encouragement, I would challenge you, the reader, to give some time to research this subject further. You have access to the information. You can get the answers.
Do not just take one person’s word for it and join the Lutheran Church. Take your time to hear multiple arguments from different perspectives, and see for yourself which Church agrees most with Scripture. For your assistance in learning about the Lutheran Church, there is a page of resources about it here:
You may also find a nearby Lutheran Church to visit or connect with using the tool below: