In contrast, Lutheran pastors assure tormented Christians that Christ indeed died for them. Christians honest enough to admit that inside they are full of sin and death are encouraged not to look at themselves for assurance of salvation but to look outside themselves—to the cross, to their Baptism, to Holy Communion, where Christ gives His sacrificed body and sacrificial blood “for you.” Lutheran theology emphasizes the extra nos (outside of ourselves) nature of salvation: rescue from sin and death comes not from within but outside of ourselves.
