Our church holds to Holy Scripture, comprised of the writings of the Old and New Testaments, as the very Word of God and the only source of all Christian teaching (2 Tim. 3:16-17, 1 Thess. 2:13, 2 Pet. 1:21). These teachings are clearly expressed and explained at length in the Lutheran Confessions, otherwise known as the Book of Concord.
Among these doctrines we teach and confess:
God
There is only one true God, who is eternal, everywhere present, infinite in power, wisdom and goodness. He is the creator and sustainer of all things, visible and invisible. This one God is yet three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who are of the same essence and power, and equal in glory.
Deut. 6:4, Ps. 90:2, Ps. 139:8, Isa. 43:10-11, Matt. 28:19, Luke 3:22, John 5:23, Titus 2:13, Heb. 11:3, 1 Pet. 1:2
Man
God created Adam and Eve, the first man and woman in his image and likeness, but through their disobedience in succumbing to the temptation of Satan, every human being since is conceived and born in sin. As a result of this condition and through our many personal sins, we deserve not only temporal death but also eternal damnation under God’s wrath.
Gen. 1:26-27, Gen. 2:17, Gen. 3:6, Ps. 51:5, Rom. 5:16-19.
Jesus Christ
The eternal Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, who is fully God took on human flesh to also become fully man yet without sin. He was born of the Virgin Mary, crucified, died, and buried for the forgiveness of our sins and to reconcile the Father to us. He descended into hell, rose again from the dead three days later, and ascended to the right hand of the Father to reign forever. He will return again on the Last Day to judge the living and the dead.
Matt. 1:23, Matt. 28:6, Acts 1:9, Acts 2:22, 1 Cor. 15:3, Col. 2:8-9, Heb. 7:26
Salvation
No human being is saved by their own efforts, works or wisdom, but only for the sake of Jesus Christ who, by his death on the cross and resurrection from the dead, has redeemed all mankind from sin, death and the devil. The Holy Spirit, by means of God’s Word, creates and sustains in us saving faith, through which we personally receive this redemption.
Luke 24:47, John 3:3, Rom. 10:13-15, Eph. 2:8, Titus 2:11, Titus 3:5-7
Good Works
Good works are the will of God for all believers in Christ, and are the fruit of the Holy Spirit who creates in them the power and will to obey God. However, these works neither merit nor sustain salvation, which is obtained only through faith in Christ. Good works are commanded by God in his Word, but are pleasing to him only for the sake of Jesus Christ who has reconciled the believer to God through faith.
Rom. 12:1-2, Eph. 2:8-10, 1 Thes. 5:23, Heb. 12:14, 1 Pet. 1:15-16
The Church
The Church is the gathering of believers where the Gospel (the good news that Jesus Christ died for our sins, rose from the dead and gives eternal life to all who believe) is purely preached and where the Sacraments are rightly observed. It is through these means that Christ sanctifies and governs his Church by the working of the Holy Spirit.
Matt. 28:19-20, Mark 16:15, Rom. 10:14-17, Eph. 2:22, 2 Cor. 2:14-17, Titus 1:9, Heb. 12:23
Baptism
Baptism is a sacrament, an act of God’s grace in which the Holy Spirit saves the one who receives it, creating faith and delivering to them the forgiveness of sins and eternal life won for them by Jesus Christ on the cross. In this act, the pastor, a minister of God’s Word, applies water to the person receiving it and pronounces the name of God saying, “in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” We believe in accordance with Christ’s command that Baptism is necessary for salvation, that infants are to be baptized as well as adults, and that it is to be administered to a person once for all time.
Matt. 28:19, John 3:5-6, Acts 2:38-41, Rom. 6:3-5, Gal. 3:27, Col. 2:11-12, Titus 3:5, 1 Pet. 3:21
Confession
Confession is a sacrament in which a Christian confesses his or her sins, and receives absolution from the pastor. This word of forgiveness that is declared by the pastor is to be believed and accepted with the assurance that this is the very word of Christ himself.
2 Sam. 12:12-13, Matt. 16:18-19, John 20:22-23, 1 John 1:8-10, 2 Cor. 2:10, 2 Cor. 5:18-21, James 5:15-16
Lord’s Supper
The Lord’s Supper is the sacrament of Christ’s real body and blood that are given with the bread and the wine for Christians to eat and to drink. The promises that Christ gives to those who receive this sacrament in faith are the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. We deny teachings such as: that this meal is only symbolic, that Jesus is not bodily present in the bread and the wine, or that the forgiveness of sins is not truly given and received by believers in the eating and drinking.
Matt. 26:17-28, Luke 22:19-20, Luke 24:28-35, John 6:51-58, 1 Cor. 10:16, 1 Cor.11:23-25
The Last Day
Jesus Christ will return at the end of God’s appointed time for the earth, to give eternal life to those who believe in him, and condemn those who reject him, along with Satan and his demons to everlasting torment.
Matt. 25:46, Mark 9:43-48, Rev. 19:20, Rev. 20:11-15, Rev. 21:8