What We Believe

• The Bible is the inspired Word of God, completely true and without error. It is the only source and authority for all matters of faith and life.
• There is only one true God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This revelation of three persons in one God is called the Trinity.
• God is the creator of everything that exists. He created all things out of nothing by His all-creative Word, as expressed in Genesis 1 and John 1. The theory of evolution is to be rejected as a false teaching.
• All human life is precious to God and should be protected and supported from conception to natural death.
• Adam and Eve, the man and woman created by God in the beginning, disobeyed God’s will and brought sin into the world. Since that time, all people have inherited this sinful condition called original sin.
• Sin is disobeying God and transgressing His holy will in thought, word and deed.
• People cannot save themselves by their good works or restore themselves to a right relationship with God.
• 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.
• Because of Jesus' death on the cross, God declares a person 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 alone as Savior from sin.
• God moves the heart of the believer to repent of sin, to trust in Jesus as Savior, and to receive Him by faith. Faith in Jesus is solely a gift of the Holy Spirit.
• We receive God's grace and forgiveness personally by the means of grace: God's Word and Sacraments (Baptism and Holy Communion). By these means, God applies the merits of Jesus' atoning death to all who believe in Jesus as their Savior.
• Jesus will come again on Judgment day. The dead will be raised, and those who are still alive will be bodily transformed. After this, the final judgment will take place. Unbelievers will go into eternal damnation in hell, and believers into eternal life in heaven.
• 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.
• Christians are called to tell others that the only way of salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ, and to show their faith by deeds of love toward others.
• The Three Ecumenical Creeds