Lutheranism

===Sacraments===
{{Main|Lutheran sacraments}}
[[File:ArticleXIOfConfession.JPG|thumb|Article IX, "[[Confession (Lutheran Church)|Of Confession]]", of the [[Augsburg Confession]]<ref>"Private Absolution ought to be retained in the churches, although in confession an enumeration of all sins is not necessary." [http://www.bookofconcord.org/augsburgconfession.php#article11 Article XI: Of Confession]</ref>]]
Lutherans hold that [[sacrament]]s are [[Sacred#Holiness in Protestantism|sacred]] acts of divine institution.<ref>{{bibleverse||Matthew|28:19|50}}, {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|11:23–25|50}}, {{bibleverse||Matthew|26:26–28|50}}, {{bibleverse||Mark|14:22–24|50}}, {{bibleverse||Luke|22:19–20|50}}, {{cite book |last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://www.projectwittenberg.org/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt|title=Outlines of Doctrinal Theology |page=161 |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |isbn=978-0-524-04891-7}}</ref> Whenever they are properly administered by the use of the physical component commanded by God<ref>{{bibleverse||Ephesians|5:27|50}}, {{bibleverse||John|3:5|50}}, {{bibleverse||John|3:23|50}}, {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|10:16|50}}, {{cite book |last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://www.projectwittenberg.org/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt|title=Outlines of Doctrinal Theology |page=161 |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |isbn=978-0-524-04891-7}}</ref> along with the divine words of institution,<ref>{{bibleverse||Ephesians|5:26|50}}, {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|10:16|50}}, {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|11:24–25|50}}, {{cite book |last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://www.projectwittenberg.org/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt|title=Outlines of Doctrinal Theology |page=161 |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |isbn=978-0-524-04891-7}}</ref> God is, in a way specific to each sacrament, present with the Word and physical component.<ref>{{bibleverse||Matthew|3:16–17|50}}, {{bibleverse||John|3:5|50}}, {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|11:19|50}}, {{cite book |last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://www.projectwittenberg.org/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt|title=Outlines of Doctrinal Theology |page=161 |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |isbn=978-0-524-04891-7}}</ref> He earnestly offers to all who receive the sacrament<ref>{{bibleverse||Luke|7:30|50}}, {{bibleverse||Luke|22:19–20|50}}, {{cite book |last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://www.projectwittenberg.org/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt|title=Outlines of Doctrinal Theology |page=162 |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |isbn=978-0-524-04891-7}}</ref> forgiveness of sins<ref>{{bibleverse||Acts|21:16|50}}, {{bibleverse||Acts|2:38|50}}, {{bibleverse||Luke|3:3|50}}, {{bibleverse||Ephesians|5:26|50}}, {{bibleverse|1|Peter|3:21|50}}, {{bibleverse||Galatians|3:26–27|50}}, {{bibleverse||Matthew|26:28|50}}, {{cite book |last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://www.projectwittenberg.org/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt|title=Outlines of Doctrinal Theology |page=163 |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |isbn=978-0-524-04891-7}}</ref> and eternal salvation.<ref>{{bibleverse|1|Peter|3:21|50}}, {{bibleverse||Titus|3:5|50}}, {{cite book |last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://www.projectwittenberg.org/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt|title=Outlines of Doctrinal Theology |page=163 |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |isbn=978-0-524-04891-7}}</ref> He also works in the recipients to get them to accept these blessings and to increase the assurance of their possession.<ref>{{bibleverse||Titus|3:5|50}}, {{bibleverse||John|3:5|50}}, {{cite book |last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://www.projectwittenberg.org/etext/graebneral/soteriology.txt|title=Outlines of Doctrinal Theology |page=163 |location=Saint Louis, MO |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |isbn=978-0-524-04891-7}}</ref>

Lutherans are not dogmatic about the number of the sacraments.<ref>The [[Apology of the Augsburg Confession]] XIII, 2: "We believe we have the duty not to neglect any of the rites and ceremonies instituted in Scripture, whatever their number. We do not think it makes much difference if, for purposes of teaching, the enumeration varies, provided what is handed down in Scripture is preserved" (cf. Theodore G. Tappert, trans. and ed., ''The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church'', (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1959), 211).</ref> In line with Luther's initial statement in his Large Catechism some speak of only two sacraments,<ref>Luther's ''Large Catechism'' IV, 1: "We have now finished the three chief parts of the common Christian doctrine. Besides these we have yet to speak of '''our two Sacraments''' instituted by Christ, of which also every Christian ought to have at least an ordinary, brief instruction, because without them there can be no Christian; although, alas! hitherto no instruction concerning them has been given" (emphasis added; cf. Theodore G. Tappert, trans. and ed., ''The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church'', (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1959), 733).</ref> [[Baptism#Protestant Reformation|Baptism]] and Holy Communion, although later in the same work he calls Confession and [[Absolution#Lutheran Churches|Absolution]]<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2020:23;&version=47; John 20:23], and Engelder, T.E.W., ''[https://archive.org/details/MN41551ucmf_1 Popular Symbolics]''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 112–113, Part XXVI "The Ministry", paragraph 156.</ref> "the third sacrament".<ref>Luther's ''Large Catechism'' IV, 74–75: "And here you see that Baptism, both in its power and signification, comprehends also the '''third Sacrament, which has been called repentance''', as it is really nothing else than Baptism" (emphasis added; cf. Theodore G. Tappert, trans. and ed., ''The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church'', (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1959), 751).</ref>

The definition of sacrament in the ''[[Apology of the Augsburg Confession]]'' lists Absolution as one of them.<ref>The ''[[Apology of the Augsburg Confession]]'' XIII, 3, 4: "If we define the sacraments as rites, which have the command of God and to which the promise of grace has been added, it is easy to determine what the sacraments are, properly speaking. For humanly instituted rites are not sacraments, properly speaking, because human beings do not have the authority to promise grace. Therefore signs instituted without the command of God are not sure signs of grace, even though they perhaps serve to teach or admonish the common folk. The sacraments, therefore, are actually baptism, the Lord's Supper, and absolution (the sacrament of repentance)" (cf. Tappert, 211). [http://www.bookofconcord.com/augsburgdefense/12_sacraments.html Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article 13, Of the Number and Use of the Sacraments]</ref> [[Confession (Lutheran Church)|Private Confession]] is expected before receiving the [[First Communion|Eucharist for the first time]].<ref>''[[Apology of the Augsburg Confession]]'', article 24, paragraph 1. Retrieved 16 April 2010.</ref><ref name="Wendel1997"/> Some churches also allow for individual absolution on Saturdays before the Eucharistic service.<ref name="Kolb2008">{{cite book|last=Kolb|first=Robert|title=Lutheran Ecclesiastical Culture: 1550 – 1675|url=https://archive.org/details/lutheranecclesia00robe|url-access=limited|year=2008|publisher=[[Brill Publishers]]|language=en|isbn=9789004166417|page=[https://archive.org/details/lutheranecclesia00robe/page/n292 282]|quote=The North German church ordinances of the late 16th century all include a description of private confession and absolution, which normally took place at the conclusion of Saturday afternoon vespers, and was a requirement for all who desired to commune the following day.}}</ref> A [[General Confession|General Confession and Absolution]], known as the [[Penitential Rite#Usage in Lutheranism|Penitential Rite]], is proclaimed in the Eucharistic liturgy.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Sacraments of the Lutheran Church |url=https://www.byfaithalone.org/learn-more |publisher=Christ The King Lutheran Church |access-date=14 May 2023 |language=English|quote=The Sacrament of Holy Absolution has two forms: the General Confession (known as the Penitential Rite or Order of Confession of Sins) that is done at the beginning of the Divine Service. In this case, the entire congregation says the confession, as the pastor says the absolution. Private Confession – done privately to a pastor, where the penitent confesses sins that trouble him/her and pleads to God for mercy, and the pastor announces God's forgiveness to the person, as the sign of the cross is made. Private confession is subject to total confidentiality by the pastor. In historic Lutheran practice, Holy Absolution is expected before partaking of Holy Communion. General confession, as well as Private Confession, are still contained in most Lutheran hymnals. Two works which are part of the Book of Concord lend support to the belief that Holy Absolution is for Lutherans the third sacrament. The Apology of the Augsburg Confession acknowledges outright that Holy Absolution is a sacrament, referring to it as the sacrament of penitence. In the Large Catechism, Luther calls Holy Absolution the third sacrament.}}</ref>

====Baptism====
[[Image:LutheranBaptism.JPG|thumb|Lutherans practice [[infant baptism]].|alt=]]
Lutherans hold that [[Luther's Small Catechism#IV. THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY BAPTISM,|Baptism]] is a saving work of God,<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Pet.%203:21;&version=49; 1 Pet. 3:21], Mueller, J.T., ''Christian Dogmatics''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. pp. 491–496, section "The Doctrine of Baptism", part 4. "Baptism a True Means of Grace", and Engelder, T.E.W., ''[https://archive.org/details/MN41551ucmf_1 Popular Symbolics]''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. p. 87, Part XXIII. "Baptism", paragraph 118.</ref> mandated and instituted by Jesus Christ.<ref>Martin Luther, ''Small Catechism'' [http://www.projectwittenberg.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/luther/little.book/book-4.txt 4]</ref> Baptism is a "[[Means of Grace#Lutheran theology|means of grace]]" through which God creates and strengthens "saving faith" as the "washing of regeneration"<ref>{{bibleverse||Titus|3:5|KJV}}</ref> in which infants and adults are reborn.<ref>{{bibleverse||John|3:3–7|KJV}}</ref> Since the creation of faith is exclusively God's work, it does not depend on the actions of the one baptized, whether infant or adult. Even though baptized infants cannot articulate that faith, Lutherans believe that it is present all the same.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=2607 |title=Baptism and Its Purpose |publisher=[[Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod]] |access-date=24 February 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090206220443/http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=2607 |archive-date=6 February 2009 }}</ref>

It is faith alone that receives these divine gifts, so Lutherans confess that baptism "works forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare".<ref>{{cite book |first=Martin |last=Luther |author-link=Martin Luther |chapter=The Sacrament of Holy Baptism |chapter-url=http://www.bookofconcord.org/smallcatechism.html#baptism |title=Luther's Small Catechism |year=2009 |orig-year=1529 |isbn=978-0-89279-043-2 |title-link=Luther's Small Catechism |publisher=Evangelical Lutheran Synod |access-date=10 March 2009 |archive-date=20 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080920070231/http://www.bookofconcord.org/smallcatechism.html#baptism |url-status=dead }}</ref> Lutherans hold fast to the Scripture cited in 1 Peter 3:21, "Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ."<ref>1 Peter 3:21</ref> Therefore, Lutherans administer Baptism to both infants<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mat.%2019:14;&version=31; Mat. 19:14], [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Act%202:38-39;&version=47; Acts 2:38–39], Engelder, T.E.W., ''[https://archive.org/details/MN41551ucmf_1 Popular Symbolics]''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. p. 90, Part XXIII. "Baptism", paragraph 122.</ref> and adults.<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Cor.%201:14;&version=31; 1 Cor. 1:14], Engelder, T.E.W., ''[https://archive.org/details/MN41551ucmf_1 Popular Symbolics]''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. p. 90, Part XXIII. "Baptism", paragraph 122.</ref> In the special section on [[infant baptism]] in his ''Large Catechism'', Luther argues that infant baptism is God-pleasing because persons so baptized were reborn and [[Sanctification#Lutheranism|sanctified]] by the Holy Spirit.<ref>{{cite book |first=Martin |last=Luther |author-link=Martin Luther |chapter=Of Infant Baptism |chapter-url=http://www.bookofconcord.org/largecatechism/6_baptism.html |year=2009 |orig-year=1529 |title=Luther's Large Catechism |isbn=978-1-4264-3861-5 |title-link=Luther's Large Catechism |access-date=10 March 2009 |archive-date=13 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080613061118/http://bookofconcord.org/largecatechism/6_baptism.html |url-status=dead }}[http://bookofconcord.org/lc-6-baptism.php#para6 Luther's Large Catechism – Holy Baptism] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200223161712/http://www.bookofconcord.org/lc-6-baptism.php#para6 |date=23 February 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://bookofconcord.org/augsburgconfession.php#article9.1|title=Augsburg Confession – Book of Concord|access-date=5 March 2015}}</ref>

====Eucharist====
{{Main|Eucharist in the Lutheran Church}}
[[File:JohntheSteadfast.JPG|thumb|[[Martin Luther]] communing [[John, Elector of Saxony|John the Steadfast]]]]
Lutherans hold that within the [[Eucharist in the Lutheran Church|Eucharist]], also referred to as the Sacrament of the Altar or the Lord's Supper, the true body and blood of Christ are truly present "in, with, and under the forms" of the [[Sacramental bread|consecrated bread]] and wine for all those who eat and drink it,<ref>[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Cor.%2010:16;&version=50; 1 Cor. 10:16], [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Cor.%2011:20,%2027;&version=47; 11:20, 27], Engelder, T.E.W., ''[https://archive.org/details/MN41551ucmf_1 Popular Symbolics]''. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934. p. 95, Part XXIV. "The Lord's Supper", paragraph 131.</ref> a doctrine that the ''Formula of Concord'' calls the [[sacramental union]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bookofconcord.com/fc-sd/supper.html |title=The Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord, Article 8, The Holy Supper |access-date=20 April 2007 |archive-date=21 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121030003/http://bookofconcord.com/fc-sd/supper.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

====Confession====
{{Main|Confession (Lutheran Church)}}
Many Lutherans receive the sacrament of penance before receiving the Eucharist.<ref name="Richard1909">{{cite book|last=Richard|first=James William|title=The Confessional History of the Lutheran Church|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924084658248|year=1909|publisher=Lutheran Publication Society|language=en |page=[https://archive.org/details/cu31924084658248/page/n128 113]|quote=In the Luthearn Church, private confession was at first ''voluntary''. Later, in portions of the Lutheran Church, it was made obligatory, as a test of orthodoxy, and as a preparation of the Lord's Supper.}}</ref><ref name="Kolb2008"/> Prior to going to Confessing and receiving Absolution, the faithful are expected to examine their lives in light of the [[s:Luther's Small Catechism#I. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS,|Ten Commandments]].<ref name="Wendel1997"/> An [[s:Luther's Small Catechism#V. HOW THE UNLEARNED SHOULD BE TAUGHT TO CONFESS.|order of Confession and Absolution]] is contained in the Small Catechism, as well as in liturgical books.<ref name="Wendel1997"/> Lutherans typically kneel at the [[communion rail]]s to confess their sins, while the confessor listens and then offers absolution while laying their [[Stole (vestment)|stole]] on the penitent's head.<ref name="Wendel1997">{{cite book|last=Wendel|first=David M. |title=Manual for the Recovery of a Parish Practice of Individual Confession and Absolution|url=http://www.societyholytrinity.org/oldsite/confession.pdf|year=1997|publisher=The Society of the Holy Trinity|pages=2, 7, 8, 11}}</ref> Clergy are prohibited from revealing anything said during private Confession and Absolution per the [[Seal of the Confessional (Lutheran Church)|Seal of the Confessional]], and face [[excommunication]] if it is violated. Apart from this, [[Laestadian Lutheran]]s have a practice of [[lay confession]].<ref name="Granquist2015">{{cite book|last=Granquist|first=Mark A.|title=Scandinavian Pietists: Spiritual Writings from 19th-Century Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland|year=2015|publisher=Paulist Press|language=en|isbn=9781587684982|page=34|quote=Initially, Laestadius exercised his ministry mainly among the indigenous Sami (Lapp) people, but his influence soon spread into areasa of northern Finland, and the Laestadian (or Apostolic Lutheran) movement became predominantly Finnish. Even though he was a university-trained pastor and scientist (he was a renowned botanist), his powerful preaching and spiritual example ignited a lay-awakening movement in the north, a movement that is known for its distinctive religious practices, including lay confession and absolution.}}</ref>