Series editor’s note: In 2025, “Deeper understandings” is focusing on the ELCA social statements. We hope to reintroduce them to readers as a means of provoking fruitful, enriching conversation between Christians with different understandings and convictions, and as a springboard for active discipleship in the world. Each article will introduce a particular statement and its Lutheran theological underpinnings, then suggest ways in which it can spark faithful conversation and action in the service of your baptismal vocation.
My hope is that you will find this series relevant to your current context and that it will help you express your Lutheran faith in your daily interaction with family, friends, neighbors and co-workers—for the sake of the flourishing of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the world and the life abundant of the neighbor and stranger.
—Kristin Johnston Largen, president of Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa, on behalf of the ELCA’s seminaries
At all times, and perhaps especially during the tumultuous age in which we live, the church is called to provide a Christ-centered response to the challenges confronting our world. The ELCA social statement “The Church in Society: A Lutheran Perspective,” adopted in 1991, establishes a Lutheran theological framework for the church’s social teachings from then until now, engaging contemporary social issues with hope, confidence and a deep faith in Jesus Christ.
Lutherans begin with the gospel of Jesus Christ
The gospel is the precious message of God’s unconditional forgiveness, mercy and grace in Jesus Christ. No organization in society other than the church leads with the gospel. It is what makes a Lutheran perspective on social issues distinctive. We center ourselves first in the gospel of Jesus Christ as our solace and the source of energy for action.
Through the means of grace—preaching, sacraments and mutual conversation in the Christian community—we receive the good news of Jesus Christ and trust that we are the beloved ones of God in Christ. Martin Luther taught that Christian freedom is the gift we receive from the gospel. We are set free by Christ from sin, death and the power of evil and set free for only one thing: serving our neighbors.
Nothing is more important for the church in society than the Great Commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40). The gospel we receive in worship through sermons, baptism and communion centers us in God’s mercy and sends us into the world: “Go in peace and serve the Lord!”
Freedom for neighbors and care of creation
When we enter the public world to serve neighbors and creation, we take up another key element of Lutheran theology, the civil (or first) use of the law. Often the church has forgotten to acknowledge this primary use of the law by focusing only on the spiritual (or second) use of the law that prepares us to hear the gospel. But it is the civil use of the law that guides us as advocates for justice.
Today we may hear Christians talk about the “gospel” of peace and justice. For Lutherans, however, it is more accurate to refer to the message of Jesus and the prophets about social issues as the “law” of peace and justice. Both law and gospel belong to God’s word, yet it is important not to confuse them. This clarification preserves the gospel as good news for all people and helps us reclaim the civil use of the law.
The civil use of the law directs us to work for peace, social justice, ecojustice and human dignity for all people, especially the vulnerable and marginalized. These are the things that make for shalom. In a democracy, we contribute to a good society not only by voting but by advocating for legislation that can best serve neighbors and repair the creation. The civil use of the law involves constructing a just rule of law in society, which includes how we structure family life, the economy and good government.
ELCA social statements and social messages help to guide us and lead us in moral deliberation of the urgent issues in our time, including immigration, climate, gender-based violence, economics and the role of government. (The ELCA is currently developing a social message on child protection.) We would be better prepared as a church for addressing social issues if more congregations engaged with these study materials.
Living our baptismal vocation for the life of the world
In baptism we receive our identity and purpose in Jesus Christ, which is the basis for our vocation in the world. Five baptismal promises guide us for our life together as the church in society.
- To live among God’s faithful people.
- To hear the word of God and share in the Lord’s Supper.
- To proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed.
- To serve all people, following the example of Jesus.
- To strive for justice and peace in all the earth.
The first two promises point out how we are formed in Christian community to be church for the sake of others. The last three promises, especially the final one, remind us that God is sending us to be the church in society.
God calls us to respond to the needs of the world with compassionate and courageous service (diakonia). Luther’s theology of the cross directs us to pay special attention wherever there is suffering. We are called to be a public church both through direct assistance to those in need (social service) and through our advocacy for a just society (social advocacy). As “The Church in Society” affirms: “In dealing openly and creatively with disagreement and controversy, this church hopes to contribute to the search for the individual as well as for the common good in public life.”
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