The Augsburg Confession

Summary

The Augsburg Confession is the founding statement of faith of the Lutheran churches. It was read aloud in German before Emperor Charles V at the Imperial Diet of Augsburg on 25 June 1530, on behalf of several German princes and two free cities that had accepted the Reformation. Its principal author was Philip Melanchthon, Martin Luther's colleague at Wittenberg; Luther, under the imperial ban, followed the proceedings from the fortress of Coburg and approved the text. The emperor had summoned the Diet partly to settle the religious dispute so that the empire could unite against the Ottoman advance. Melanchthon therefore wrote in a moderate tone, stressing that the reformers taught nothing contrary to Scripture, the ancient creeds or the catholic church as known from the fathers. The confession has two parts. The first twenty-one articles set out doctrine: the Trinity, original sin, the person of Christ, justification by faith, the ministry of word and sacrament, new obedience, the church, baptism, the Lord's Supper, confession, repentance, church order, civil government, the return of Christ, free will, the cause of sin, good works and the honouring of saints. Article IV, on justification, states the central Reformation claim that people are justified freely for Christ's sake through faith, not by their own merits. Article VII defines the church as the assembly of believers where the Gospel is rightly taught and the sacraments rightly administered. The second part, Articles XXII to XXVIII, explains abuses the reformers had corrected: giving the cup to the laity, allowing priests to marry, reforms of the Mass and of private confession, rules about foods, monastic vows, and the limits of bishops' power. Catholic theologians answered with the Confutation, and Melanchthon replied with the Apology of the Augsburg Confession. The Peace of Augsburg (1555) later gave legal recognition to rulers who adhered to the confession. It remains the chief confession of Lutheran churches worldwide and was included in the Book of Concord of 1580.

Plot or Argument

• Preface

  An address to Charles V asking for a fair hearing and a peaceful settlement of religious disagreement.

• Articles I–XXI: Chief articles of faith

  Doctrine from the Trinity and original sin through justification, church, sacraments and civil life.

• Articles XXII–XXVIII: Abuses corrected

  Communion in both kinds, clerical marriage, the Mass, confession, fasting rules, monastic vows and church power.

• Conclusion

  The signers affirm their readiness to give further account from Scripture.

Lessons

• Faith and works

  The confession teaches that people are justified by faith, while insisting that faith must produce good works.

  • How does Article XX answer the charge that the reformers forbade good works?
  • Why does the confession stress that good works are commanded though they do not earn grace?

• Religion and the state

  Presented to an emperor, the confession distinguishes church authority from civil authority.

  • What powers does Article XXVIII give to bishops, and which does it deny them?
  • Why might the princes have wanted a moderate tone?

• Stating beliefs under pressure

  The confession was read before an emperor who could punish its signers.

  • Why did the signers choose a written confession rather than a debate?
  • What risks did the princes take in signing it?

• For the Christian reader

  The Augsburg Confession remains the chief confession of Lutheran churches worldwide. Its central article on justification by grace through faith (Romans 3:21–28; Ephesians 2:8–10) was offered to the emperor as the teaching of Scripture and the early church, not as something new. Students from any tradition can learn from its careful, peaceable tone and its insistence that good works follow from faith.

  • How does Article IV define justification, and which Scriptures support it?
  • Why did Melanchthon stress agreement with the ancient creeds?

Context

Since 1517 Luther's challenge to indulgences had divided the Holy Roman Empire. The Diet of Speyer in 1529 produced the protest that gave Protestants their name, and Charles V called the Diet of Augsburg in 1530 hoping to restore unity.

Composition

Melanchthon prepared the text in Augsburg in spring 1530, revising earlier statements such as the Schwabach and Torgau Articles. The German version was read publicly on 25 June; Latin and German copies were given to the emperor.

Reception

The Augsburg Confession became the standard of the Lutheran churches and a model for later Protestant confessions. It was included in the Book of Concord (1580), and the 1555 Peace of Augsburg protected rulers who accepted it.

Comparisons

• Selected Sermons and Reformation Treatises

  Luther's treatises state the convictions that Melanchthon set out in measured confessional form.

• Institutes of the Christian Religion

  Calvin's Institutes give the Reformed systematic statement of many of the same doctrines.

• The Heidelberg Catechism

  The Heidelberg Catechism teaches Reformed doctrine in question-and-answer form a generation later.

• The Early Christian Creeds

  The confession opens by affirming the Nicene faith and repeatedly claims continuity with the ancient creeds.

• The Leipzig Disputation

  The 1519 debate at Leipzig shows the quarrel over authority that the confession tried to calm.

• On Free Will (De Libero Arbitrio)

  Erasmus's essay belongs to the same debate on the will treated in Article XVIII.

• The Westminster Shorter Catechism

  A later English Reformed statement of faith in compact form.

Quotes

For Students

A reading companion for classical Christian high school students. See the student guide.

Reading Guide

Watch for

• The appeal to the ancient creeds and fathers.
• Article IV on justification.
• Article VII on the church.
• The second part's list of corrected abuses.

Key terms and names

Diet

An assembly of the estates of the Holy Roman Empire.

Justification

Being declared righteous before God.

Communion in both kinds

Giving both bread and wine to the laity.

Confutation

The Catholic reply to the confession, read in August 1530.

Seminar Questions

1. Comprehension What does Article IV say about how a person is justified?
2. Comprehension Name three abuses that the second part says were corrected.
3. Comprehension Why could Luther not attend the Diet of Augsburg in person?
4. Interpretation Why does the confession repeatedly claim agreement with the ancient church?
5. Interpretation How does Article VII allow for differences in ceremonies?
6. Big Question Can people with different beliefs share a political community?

Faith Connections

• Romans 3:21-28 (Scripture)

  Paul's teaching on righteousness through faith, cited in Article IV.

• Ephesians 2:8-9 (Scripture)

  Salvation by grace through faith, not of works.

• Council of Trent, Decree on Justification (1547) (Great Conversation)

  The Catholic response to the Reformation teaching on justification.

Logic and Rhetoric

Central argument: Christians are justified freely for Christ's sake through faith, and the church is where the Gospel is rightly preached and the sacraments rightly given; the reformers claim to have corrected abuses without departing from the catholic faith.

Rhetorical device: conciliatory rhetoric. The confession stresses agreement with Rome and the fathers to present reform as a return to the ancient faith.

Debate: Resolved: that the Augsburg Confession was a genuine attempt at reconciliation rather than a declaration of separation.

Memory Work

Also they teach that men cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or works, but are freely justified for Christ's sake, through faith

And to the true unity of the Church it is enough to agree concerning the doctrine of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments.

Writing Prompts

Essay: Explain how the Augsburg Confession tries to present the Lutheran reforms as faithful to the catholic tradition. How persuasive is this claim?

Comparison with The Heidelberg Catechism: Compare the Augsburg Confession with the Heidelberg Catechism in purpose, form and tone.

Creative Prompts

• Essay

  Make a chart comparing Article IV with a Catholic statement on justification and identify points of real disagreement and of shared language.

• Dialogue

  Write a dialogue between Melanchthon and a Catholic theologian at Augsburg trying to find common ground on Article IV.

Further Reading

• The Book of Concord, Various

  The collection of Lutheran confessions, 1580.

• Luther: Selected Sermons and Treatises, Martin Luther