AboutJason Harris Expertise I am an LCMS Pastor. I can answer questions about Lutheran theology past and present, Lutheran and Protestant church history from the reformation onward. I can address Latin to English translation questions in the Lutheran Confessions. I am also well versed in American Protestant history of all types.
Experience I would be considered a "confessional" and "high-church" Lutheran familiar with more conservative viewpoints.
Publications I have been published several times in Liturgy, Hymnody, and Pulpit Journal.
Education/Credentials I received my Master of Divinity from Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne Indiana.
Question Does the Lutheran church believe that non-Lutherans will NOT be allowed into heaven - Say for example Methodists who are follows and believers in Jesus Christ?
Answer Carter,
No! Thankfully salvation does not rest upon a church membership, logo, or title, but upon Christ and Him crucified. Those who know and believe this good news about who Jesus is and what he has done are equally forgiven, declared righteous and covered by the blood of Jesus.
In fact, the Lutheran understanding of salvation makes this point abundantly clear. We understand faith and new life in Christ as a completely free gift miraculously worked by God himself, the Holy Spirit, through means. Simply put, "God does it all".
How does he give us this grace? Through the "means of grace", that is, the Word and Sacraments. The Gospel is the "power of God unto salvation" whether this gospel in poured into our ears, projected into our eyes, trickled over our head and so forth. Simply put, "God does it through his word."
Now human beings all have a sinful nature which constantly distorts the promises of God and seeks all sorts of lies and idolatry. Wherever sinners get together, whether they wear a Lutheran, Methodist, or any other hat, there will be errors, rivalries, and schism. That is why we can be thankful that "God does it all, through the word, in spite of us".
Though on earth there are many denominations, creeds and splinter groups, ultimately there is still "one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism". Church unity is not a goal to be pursued, but a mystery to be confessed. A person may be sitting in a church hearing all sorts of false teachings and errors, but as long as the word of God is heard, read, and so forth, the Holy Spirit will be there working faith, life, and salvation.
Think of it in terms of input and output. The input of salvation is the same everywhere. God puts the Gospel into the hearts of all Christians by his means of grace. Spiritually, in the new man, everybody knows and trusts this truth perfectly.
The output varies from person to person, church to church. As long as we are alive on this earth, our sinful flesh and mind, the old man, will not be able to understand and confess the mystery of faith perfectly. Some outward public confessions of faith are very in line with Scripture. Some are less so. It is certainly a noble goal to try to formally align oneself with the most outwardly faithful creed. It is also good to avoid false teaching. But salvation does not hinge upon this. Salvation is built of the rock of Christ. Nothing in this world, not even our own selves, can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
