施馬爾卡爾登戰爭結束後，查理五世致力在贏得的領土上推行羅馬基督教會的教條。然而，路德派運動所贏得的領土更為遼闊。1577年，路德派運動的第二代繼承人蒐集整理前人學說，為路德派教會的承傳奠下理論根基，這份文件世稱《協和信條》。到1580年，前後共十二份認信文（Confessions of faith）都歸集為《協同書》，流傳至今。
路德宗教會相信所有參與聖餐的人在領受餅和酒時，同時領受主的真身體及真寶血–「基督在沒有改變的餅與酒之內，與餅和酒同在，在餅和酒之下」(in, with and under the bread and wine)（哥林多前書10:16）。路德教會堅信，當信徒領受主的真身體和真寶血時，他們也同時得到罪的赦免（馬太福音26:28），但未認罪的信徒、非信徒和拒絕承認基督真身體臨在於聖餐的人，若領受基督的身體和寶血，只會令他們被定罪：[22][23]
世界信義宗聯會及羅馬天主教自1965年成立了工作小組嘗試修補兩教派間的宗教裂痕及展開對話。及至1997年2月，世界信義宗聯會與天主教會發表《關於稱義教義的聯合聲明》，惟雙方仍存在分歧，聲明亦未得到天主教教廷的認可[35]。在1999年10月31日，雙方在德國奧格斯堡簽署文件確認《關於稱義教義的聯合聲明》（Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification）[36]。循道宗亦肯定兩教會共同簽署的聯合聲明，於2006年7月23日於南韓首爾加入聯署有關聲明[37]，並附上一份循道衛理宗教會對「稱義」的理解文件，兩份文件的中文譯本亦已於2014年5月24日於香港循道衛理聯合教會九龍堂，由三方教會簽署領袖確認。[38]
Book of Concord Frequently Asked Questions. bookofconcord.org. [2017-11-07]. （原始內容存檔於2020-10-31）. The Lutheran Confessions are ten statements of faith that Lutherans use as official explanations and summaries of what they believe, teach, and confess. They remain to this day the definitive standard of what Lutheranism is.
This We Believe - Justification （頁面存檔備份，存於網際網路檔案館）, by Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, stating: We believe that God has justified all sinners, that is, he has declared them righteous for the sake of Christ. This is the central message of Scripture upon which the very existence of the church depends. It is a message relevant to people of all times and places, of all races and social levels, for "the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men" (Romans 5:18). All need forgiveness of sins before God, and Scripture proclaims that all have been justified, for "the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men" (Romans 5:18)...We believe that individuals receive this free gift of forgiveness not on the basis of their own works, but only through faith (Ephesians 2:8,9).
《協同信條》 （頁面存檔備份，存於網際網路檔案館） （1577） "[T]he Gospel is properly a doctrine which teaches what man should believe, that he may obtain forgiveness of sins with God, namely, that the Son of God, our Lord Christ, has taken upon Himself and borne the curse of the Law, has expiated and paid for all our sins, through whom alone we again enter into favor with God, obtain forgiveness of sins by faith, are delivered from death and all the punishments of sins, and eternally saved. For everything that comforts, that offers the favor and grace of God to transgressors of the Law, is, and is properly called, the Gospel, a good and joyful message that God will not punish sins, but forgive them for Christ's sake." （主文所用為香港路德會文字部《協同書》中文譯本）
This We Believe - The Means of Grace （頁面存檔備份，存於網際網路檔案館）: "We believe that the blessing of Baptism is meant for all people (Matthew 28:19), including infants. Infants are born sinful (John 3:6) and therefore need to be born again, that is, to be brought to faith, through Baptism (John 3:5)...We reject the view that babies should not be baptized and that they cannot believe in Christ (Luke 18:15-17)"
This We Believe - The Means of Grace （頁面存檔備份，存於網際網路檔案館）: "We believe that all who join in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper receive the true body and blood of Christ in, with, and under the bread and wine (1 Corinthians 10:16)...We believe that Christ's words of institution cause the real presence—not any human action. As believers receive his body and blood, they also receive the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:28) and the comfort and assurance that they are truly his own. Unbelievers also receive Christ's body and blood, but to their judgment (1 Corinthians 11:29)...Scripture teaches that all communicants receive both the bread and wine and the body and blood of Christ (1 Corinthians 10:16)."
WELS Topical Q&A: Who may Commune/Serve? - Closed Communion, "Communion is based on faith in Christ, so non-Christians cannot attend. Communion is for forgiveness so the impenitent who are living in a sin cannot attend. Communion calls for self-examination so the uninstructed cannot attend, even our own children. If communicants do not recognize the presence of Christ's body and blood in the sacrament, they receive it not to their blessing but to their condemnation, so members of churches that do not believe in the real presence cannot attend with us."
This We Believe - Justification By Grace through Faith （頁面存檔備份，存於網際網路檔案館）: "We believe that already before the world was created, God chose those individuals whom he would in time convert through the gospel of Christ and preserve in faith to eternal life (Ephesians 1:4-6; Romans 8:29,30)."
This We Believe - Jesus' Return and the Judgment （頁面存檔備份，存於網際網路檔案館）: "We reject the teaching that Christ will reign on earth for a thousand years in a physical, earthly kingdom. This teaching (millennialism) has no valid scriptural basis and falsely leads Christians to set their hopes upon an earthly kingdom of Christ (John 18:36)." )
This We Believe - Church and State （頁面存檔備份，存於網際網路檔案館）: "We believe that not only the church but also the state, that is, all governmental authority, has been instituted by God. "The authorities that exist have been established by God" (Romans 13:1). Christians will, therefore, for conscience's sake obey the government that rules over them (Romans 13:5) unless that government commands them to disobey God (Acts 5:29)."
A German pope heads for the Land of Luther （頁面存檔備份，存於網際網路檔案館）, National Catholic Reporter（英語：National Catholic Reporter）, 2 Sept 2011 （英文）, saying "To be sure, the Joint Declaration has not exactly brought about an ecumenical New Jerusalem. Some Lutherans have rejected the agreement, including the International Lutheran Council and the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference. On the Catholic side, the Vatican’s approval remains officially binding, but enthusiasm varies."
WELS Topical Q&A - Justification. [2017-11-07]. （原始內容存檔於2009-09-27）. The biblical Lutheran teaching of 「forensic」 justification maintains that the only effective cause of our forgiveness is a verdict of God that takes place outside of ourselves. We are declared 「not guilty」 entirely on the basis of what Christ has done for us. Catholic teaching on justification makes a change within man part of the cause of our forgiveness. The Joint Declaration does not represent a change in the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. It does nothing to repudiate Rome’s historic position on the doctrine. The Joint Declaration is nothing more than an ambiguous statement, carefully worded to make it possible for the Pope’s representatives to sign it without changing, retracting, or correcting anything that has been taught by the Roman Catholic Church since the time of the Council of Trent in the sixteenth century. The Joint Declaration is a compromise. It masquerades as a significant change which brings Roman Catholicism in line with confessional Lutheranism on the teaching of justification. In fact, it is a deception that presents the appearance of agreement without any real substance that would make agreement possible. It is a thinly veiled attempt on the part of ecumenicism to embrace Catholicism. In the final analysis it appears that Rome has moved closer to reattaching what was lost in the sixteenth century without any substantive change in its doctrinal position.
