October 16, 2022 • 1580 AD

It was a tumultuous time after Luther’s death; Satan was having a heyday with all of these controversies. The people were confused, and the Gospel was at risk again.

But once again, God raised up faithful men to proclaim the truth of God’s Holy Word.

That’s where the year 1580 becomes important. In 1580, the Lutherans formulated all of their doctrines into one book called the Book of Concord. The Book of Concord “confessed” the truth of Holy Scripture. True Lutherans rallied around the Book of Concord, as it faithfully confessed the teachings of Christ. The Book of Concord brought peace and unity to the Lutheran Reformation. It was the final dividing line between those who confessed Lutheran doctrine and those who did not. Even today, here at Trinity, the official constitution of our church references the Book of Concord:
Article III: Confession of Faith
This congregation acknowledges and accepts all of the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments without reservation and acknowledges and accepts all the Symbolic Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, contained in the Book of Concord of 1580, to be the true exposition of the doctrines of the Holy Scriptures. . . . All doctrines shall be taught and examined in the congregation according to these Scriptural and Confessional norms and all doctrinal controversies, which arise in this congregation, shall be decided and adjudicated on the basis of them.

The Book of Concord is the official and public Confession of the Lutheran Church. The Book of Concord is frequently referred to simply as the Concordia … a Latin word that means agreement, union, and harmony.

1580AD separated the Lutherans from all the other Protestants. It marks the creation of the Book of Concord, the official teachings and confessions of the true Lutheran Church.

1580AD teaches us that the teachings of Christ matter; and that true Concordia happens only around the truth of the Word of God. Amen!

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