BELIEVE AND CONFESS
We believe and confess . . .
•In the Triune God Whose name is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and that He is the Creator of all things and the Giver of every good gift.
•That the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible are God’s inspired and inerrant Word.
•That we are saved by God’s grace alone, through faith in Jesus Christ alone, as revealed in Holy Scriptures alone.
•That Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God Who took our human flesh in time to give His holy life to death on a cross to pay completely for the sins of the world, and Who rose again from the dead to defeat death, the devil, and hell, and to open heaven for all who believe in Him.
•That the written and spoken Word of the Gospel, Holy Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper are the means of grace through which God the Holy Spirit brings forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation to sinners.
•That pure preaching of the Word is the proper distinction between God’s Law and Gospel.
•That the doctrines of Holy Scripture are properly and purely expounded and explained in the Book of Concord—the Lutheran Confessions—of the year 1580.
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The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, with the universal Christian Church, teaches and responds to the love of the Triune God:
Father, creator of all that exists;
Jesus Christ, the Son, who became human to suffer and die for the sins of all human beings and to rise to life again in the ultimate victory over death and Satan; and
Holy Spirit, who creates faith through God’s Word and Sacraments.
The three persons of the Trinity are coequal and coeternal, one God.
Being “Lutheran” ...
Our congregations accept and preach the Bible-based teachings of Martin Luther that inspired the reformation of the Christian Church in the 16th century. The teaching of Luther and the reformers can be summarized in three phrases: Grace alone, Faith alone, Scripture alone.
FROM LUTHER'S SMALL CATECHISM:
Of Creation.
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my limbs, my reason, and all my senses, and still preserves them; in addition thereto, clothing and shoes, meat and drink, house and homestead, wife and children, fields, cattle, and all my goods; that He provides me richly and daily with all that I need to support this body and life, protects me from all danger, and guards me and preserves me from all evil; and all this out of pure, fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me; for all which I owe it to Him to thank, praise, serve, and obey Him. This is most certainly true.
Of Redemption.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won [delivered] me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, in order that I may be [wholly] His own, and live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, even as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true.
Of Sanctification.
I believe in the Holy Ghost; one holy Christian Church, the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.
I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith; even as He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith; in which Christian Church He forgives daily and richly all sins to me and all believers, and at the last day will raise up me and all the dead, and will give to me and to all believers in Christ everlasting life. This is most certainly true.
SEAL OF THE LUTHERAN CHURCH
MISSOURI SYNOD
