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Information in English
ELBK
Evangelical Lutheran Confessional Church (Den Evangelisk Lutherske Bekjennelseskirke / Evangelisk Lutherska Bekännelsekyrkan)
The Evangelical Lutheran Confessional Church is a denomination separate from the Swedish State Church. ELBK consists of four congregations: one in Norway and three in Sweden. In 1974, Lutheran pastors and church members began to feel concerned about the teachings and practices of the Swedish State Church. They were compelled by their convictions to remain completely faithful to God's Word and therefore left the State Church. The congregation in Norway was founded in 1978. The name ELBK has been used since 1990. Churches that maintain fellowship with ELBK:
Lutheran Congregation of Stocholm. (Lutherska Församlingen i Stockholmsområdet (LFS) , http://www.lutherskaforsamlingen.se Lutheran Congregations of Umeå. ( Lutherska församlingen i Umeåområdet (LFU) http://www.lutherskaforsamlingen.se The Evangelical Lutheran Free Church in Denmark (Den evangelisk lutherske Frikirke i Danmark http://www.vivit.dk We firmly believe that the Bible is inerrant and infallible Word of God, which we must cling to as the sole source and foundation of all teachings in the church. We also accept the Lutheran Confessions contained in The Book of Concord**, published in 1580, as a true exposition of the Holy Scriptures doctrine. We pray that all people would search and find the Holy Bible (Old and New Testaments) as the Word of God. The Bible is sacred scripture, clear, Spirit-filled and life-giving. We pray that every persons' eyes would be opened to see the truth that Jesus Christ is The Savior - The Way, The Truth and The Life. If you would like more information about our church, please feel free to send an e-mail to the church board Chairman, Pastor Asbjørn Hjorthaug at Knapstad Lutheran Congregation Church in Norway. Knapstad@elbk.org ** The Book of Concord consists of 9 writings: The Ecumenical Creeds: the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed and the Athanasian Creed, and then: the Augsburg Confession, the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, the Smalcald Articles by Luther, the two Catechisms of Luther, and the Formula of Concord.
What is Lutheran Christianity? To find the answer to that question, we go to the Bible. The Bible is God’s Word and contains everything God has revealed to us as it was given to prophets, apostles and evangelists. (2 Peter 1:21) God reveals Himself to us through His Word, the Bible so that we can know and learn His divine will and character. He is the one true God in three persons (the Godhead): Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:20). God is eternal. (Psalms 90:2), omnipotent (Matthew 19;26), omniscient (Psalms 139:1-5), the Truth (Psalms 116:11), good and merciful (Psalms 103:8). Creation Heaven, earth and every living creature, seen and unseen, was created by God through His word. “For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” (Psalm 33:9). And until that moment God held and maintained the whole world in Himself. “For in Him we live and move and have our being…” (Acts 17:28) Mankind was created by God in His own image. In the beginning, we were completely sinless, pure and righteous. (Genesis 1:31) But the first human beings disobeyed God and rebelled against His will, thus sin entered the world and the relationship God had with human beings was destroyed. This left us with us a guilty conscience and a desire for evil things. (Genesis 3) Left to ourselves, we would have been completely lost “…having no hope and without God in the world.” (Ephesians 2:12) Jesus Christ God did not leave mankind to inherit the fate that sin would bring. Instead he sent his only begotten son, Jesus Christ, into the world to redeem it. Jesus came to fix what was out of order, to heal what was sick, and to repair what was broken. Jesus became a man for our sakes “…to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). Reconciliation Everything that Jesus did was for us, and that certainly includes his suffering and death on the cross. For it was there that He took into himself the punishment that we deserved. “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). Jesus did all that for mankind; he stepped in and achieved what we never could have done ourselves. His work on the cross allowed us to have reconciliation with God! As it says in 2 Corinthians 5:19, “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them…”. Because of that, we now have the Gospel (good news) that there is forgiveness for sins, resurrection from the dead and eternal life for all mankind. And that has nothing to do with how many sins a person commits or how big of a sinner they may be. Forgiveness is possible because Jesus Christ died on the cross and took the punishment for all sins – past, present and future. As it reads in Isaiah 1:18, “…..Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool“. Grace So what is it God requires us to do in order to receive what He gives? Nothing! He gives His grace freely to us without demands or requirements. Because God is so full of mercy and grace, He has paid our debt and freely given us forgiveness, righteousness and eternal life through His word: the gospel He wants all people to hear! “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). The Word and the acts that are bound to the Word, baptism (Eph. 5:26), confession and absolution (John 20:23) and communion (1 Cor 11:23), are therefore a means through which God reaches out and gives His grace and forgiveness to all mankind. This grace is possible because Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins bringing us reconciliation with God. Belief/Faith To believe or have faith in Jesus means to hear the message of salvation (the work of reconciliation through the cross) and receive it, believe it, cling to it, live it. Anyone who believes has an inheritance in the faith: “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life…” (John 3:36). Belief or faith is therefore not at all dependent on a person’s works or good deeds. It is the Holy Spirit’s work alone that creates faith in a person through the words and promises in the Holy Scriptures. “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). The Church The first apostles formed the first Christian church. They believed and preached the message that Christ had commanded them to preach. Since then the Christian church has grown and spread, but also changed. Many large church denominations are in existence today as well as many smaller ones. How can one recognize the correct church among so many different denominations and groups? That question can be answered by looking at the church’s confessions and teachings. Jesus says in John 8:31, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.” The Church’s Confession The correct church can be recognized by what they confess and teach. This church has visible distinguishing features which set them apart. The Lutheran Church has their confessions, teachings and distinguishing features wrapped in 2 main elements: God’s Word and the sacraments. God’s word should be proclaimed purely and clearly. This means that the law is preached so that we see our sin (Romans 3:20), and that the gospel is preached so that we receive hope and faith in Jesus Christ our Savior (Mark 16:15). Lastly, the sacraments which were instituted by Christ must be administered faithfully, in accordance with His word (Matt 28:19, John 20:22-23, 1 Cor. 11:23-25). |
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