To help individuals and congregations commemorate the Reformation, the LCMS Commission on Theology and Church Relations (CTCR) developed Bible study materials on the doctrine of justification.
Unjustifiable Faiths
This Bible study explores four commonly held beliefs that do not justify a person before God. Since each is an attempt to show that the person’s conduct is right or reasonable (and therefore should be acceptable to God), each is really an example of self-justification, and as such, falls short of what Scripture teaches: “It is God who justifies” (Rom. 8:33b), as He declares people righteous through faith in Christ.
Session 1: Leader guide | Participant guide
Justifying Christmas
This is a four-session Bible study that is about helping Christians see “how the Scriptures connected with the birth of Jesus proclaim the Good News of justification by grace through faith. … In other words … how Christmas justifies us.”
Session 1: Leader guide | Participant guide
Jesus and Justification
This presentation provides the outline for a study that gives special attention to justification, “the doctrine on which the church stands or falls.” It is appropriate as we celebrate this 500th anniversary of the Reformation, but at any other time as well. The resource may be used over a four-week period of study as a Sunday Bible class or any other study.
Luther and the Doctrine of Justification
He Is Our Righteousness
Does our Lord Jesus really teach justification by grace through faith? Where, and how? This Bible study examines the Parable of the Good Samaritan, which some have used to argue that Jesus did not teach justification by grace alone and through faith alone. Through the study’s four sessions, you’ll discover how this passage actually does teach this important truth, and it does so in a beautiful and memorable way.
Session 1: Leader guide | Participant guide
Session 2: Leader guide | Participant guide
Session 3: Leader guide | Participant guide
Session 4: Leader guide | Participant guide
Subjective and Objective Justification
and Justification and Evangelicalism
Justification is the doctrine on which the Church stands or falls. The CTCR has furnished the last set of Bible studies in its series on justification. Learn the ins and outs of subjective/objective justification, justification and evangelicalism, and the ecumenical discussion on justification in the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification.
Session 1: Leader guide | Participant guide
Session 2: Leader guide | Participant guide
Justification and Evangelicalism: Leader’s Guide | PowerPoint