Martin Luther's Seal

While a professor at Wittenberg, Luther devised this seal which he declared was meant to be "expressive of his theology." This explanation is the gist of a letter written to his friend, Herr Spengler, town clerk of Nuremberg:

The first thing expressed in my seal is a cross, black, within the heart, to put me in mind that faith in Christ crucified saves us.  "For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness."

Now, although the cross is black, mortified, and intended to cause pain, yet it does not change the color of the heart, does not destroy nature -- i.e., does not kill, but keeps alive.  "For the just shall live by faith," -- by faith in the Savior.

But this heart is fixed upon the center of a white rose, to show that faith causes joy, consolation and peace. The rose is white, not red, because white is the ideal color of all angels and blessed spirits.

This rose, moreover, is fixed in a sky-colored ground, to denote that such joy of faith in the spirit is but an earnest and beginning of heavenly joy to come, as anticipated and held by hope, though not yet revealed.

And around this ground base is a golden ring, to signify that such bliss in heaven is endless, and more precious than all joys and treasures, since gold is the best and most precious metal. Christ, our dear Lord, He will give grace unto eternal life. Amen.

Lutherans still celebrate the Reformation on October 31 and still hold to the basic principles of theology and practice espoused by Luther, such as Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, Sola Scriptura:

• We are saved by God's grace alone (sola gratia) -- not by anything we do

• Our salvation is through faith alone (sola fide) -- we need only believe that our sins are forgiven for the sake of Christ, who died to redeem us

• The Bible alone (sola scriptura) is the norm of doctrine and life -- the only true standard by which teachings are to be judged

• Worship, including the reading of Scripture, needs to be done in the language of the people

Many Lutherans still consider themselves as a reforming movement within the Church catholic, rather than a separatist movement, and Lutherans have engaged in ecumenical dialogue with other church bodies for decades.

Luther's Small Catechism is still used to introduce people to the Lutheran faith, as is the Augsburg Confession. These and other Lutheran confessional documents included in the Book of Concord may be ordered from the ELCA Publishing House at 800-328-4648.