The Evangelical Lutheran Church is the True Church Because of the Gospel

Many religions compete for which is the true one. And many branches of Christianity claim they are the truest to the Scriptures, or the true church. However, unfortunately, many of these claim such merely for the sake of "being right." They usually base it upon alleged "apostolic succession," or "the successor of Peter," or "truest to the Scriptures."

However, even the last case of "truest to the Scriptures" begs the question of *how*. How should the Scriptures be interpreted?

The Evangelical Lutheran Church, or Evangelical Catholics, believes that what constitutes the true visible Church on earth is the pure preaching of the Gospel and the pure administration of the Sacraments according to the Gospel. We believe that the Gospel is what constitutes the proper interpretation of Scripture. Everything is about Jesus Christ† and His work for us.

This is expressed in our Lutheran Confessions, which we believe to be faithful to the Good News of the Gospel. Apart from the Gospel, there is no church. This is why all false doctrine is dangerous. Anything that waters down the Good News of the Gospel inevitably points us toward our own efforts.

God must always come *down* to us. The Gospel is for us, for us poor, weary sinners.

It is all about the Gospel. Apart from this, there is no good news.

Christ is for us in Word and Sacrament!