General Information about our Beliefs and Practice
With the Universal Christian Church, the Lutheran Church--Missouri
Synod teaches and responds to the love of the Triune God: the 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 the 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" means our congregations accept and teach
Bible-based teachings of Martin Luther that inspired the Reformation of the Christian Church
in the 16th century. The teachings of Luther and the reformers can be summarized
in three short phrases: Grace alone, Scripture alone, Faith alone.
Grace alone
God loves the people of the
world, even though they are sinful, rebel against Him, and do not deserve His love. He sent
Jesus, His Son, to love the unlovable and save the ungodly.
Scripture alone
The Bible is God's inerrant and infallible Word in which He reveals His law and His Gospel of
salvation in Jesus Christ. It is the sole rule and norm for Christian doctrine.
Faith alone
By His suffering and death as the substitute for all the people of all time, Jesus purchased and won forgiveness and eternal
life for them. Who hears this Good News and believes it has the
eternal life that it offers. God creates faith in Christ and
gives people forgiveness though Him.
"Synod"
The word "Synod" in The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod
comes from the Greek words that mean "walking together." It has rich
meaning in our church body because we are some 6,000 congregations that voluntarily choose to belong to the Synod and to work together for the common good.
Diverse in their service, these congregations hold to a shared
confession of Jesus Christ as taught in Holy Scripture and the Lutheran
Confessions.
For more information about the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, we invite you to check out our church body's home page. Click the link below -- and be sure to see the extensive FAQ section!
What Lutherans Believe….
1. The entire Bible, which points to Jesus as the Savior, is the inspired and errorless Word of God. It is God's message of love and hope for all people.
2. There is only one true God, who exists in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
3. God is the creator of everything that exists.
4. Adam and Eve, our first parents, were historical persons originally created by God pure and holy. They lived according to God's will, doing what was pleasing to Him.
5. Adam and Eve, the man and woman God created in the beginning, went against God's will and brought sin into the world. Since that time, all people have been conceived and born in sin.
6. Sin is living out of relationship with God, not living according to God's will, and thus transgressing His holy will in thought, word and deed.
7. People cannot restore themselves by their good works or restore themselves to a right relationship with God.
8. God sent His Son, Jesus, into the world. He is both true God and true man. He lived to fulfill God's law for us, died on the cross to pay the penalty our sins deserved, and rose from the dead so that we might have eternal life. He ascended into heaven, where He now sits at the right hand of The Father to intercede for us.
9. Because of Jesus' death on the cross, God declares a person just or righteous and forgiven. This happens not because of human effort, but because the justification won by Jesus is applied to the one who believes in Jesus as Savior.
10. Faith in Jesus is a gift of God, given by the power of the Holy Spirit; thus all the glory belongs to God.
11. The means of grace are the Word, Holy Baptism and Holy Communion. By these means, the merits of Jesus' perfect life and atoning death are personally conveyed to all who believe in Jesus as their Savior.
12. Jesus will come again to take all believers to Himself. On the final day, all the dead will be raised. Those who are still alive will be bodily transformed. After this the final judgment will take place. Unbelievers will go into eternal damnation, and believers into eternal life.
13. The true Christian church is made up of all believers of all times who believe in the Triune God and in Jesus Christ as their only Savior.
14. God wants Christians to join with other believers in churches which correctly teach God's Word and administer Holy Baptism and Holy Communion according to the teachings of Scripture.
15. Christians are called to tell others that the only way of salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ, and to show their faith by their deeds of love toward others.
(Reprinted from Lutheran Hour Ministries What Lutherans Believe brochure, ©2000)
