We Are All Beggars: Why Must Lutherans Be So Different?
The claim will always be put forward against the Lutheran Church: “Why must we be so different from everyone else? Why must we take issue with every little bit of false theology? We all believe in Jesus don’t we? Why insist on a confession that separates us from other brothers and sisters in Christ?”Such is the cry of false humility.
These types of questions will continue to arise, for heterodoxy will continue to pit true orthodoxy against the gospel. In the name of Christian love, false teaching will lay claim to the true confession of the faith, attempting to suggest that we don't really need to have pure Gospel, and leading us down the path of universalism.
However, and this is key, Lutherans never argue doctrine for the sake of showing ourselves to be in the right. We never argue doctrine to put one in his place. The task of arguing over doctrine is always for the sake of the very thing which is central to the Christian life: the justification of the sinner through faith alone. For every single error, no matter how seemingly minor, is an assault on this central article of the Christian faith.
