The Holy Trinity

With all true Christians we believe in one God who is the Most Blessed Trinity - Father, Son, and Spirit - and His work of creation, salvation, and sanctification as it is confessed and believed the Nicene Creed:

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried.  And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures and ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father. And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. And I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins, and I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.

 

By Grace, through Faith

Lutherans are the inheritors of the Western Church (Christendom) and not merely a denomination among many. Our symbols (the Book of Concord), are exactly that: symbols of the faith. Standing squarely in the catholic, orthodox tradition of the Christian faith we confess that the Bible is the Word of God (not simply "contains" the Word of God) and that it is the only source and norm of all teaching (doctrine) in the Church.

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We believe, teach, and confess that it is by the grace of God alone that we are brought into fellowship with the Father through the Son by the power of the Holy Spirit, and such fellowship (also called "salvation") is by no means the result of any thing we have done or refrained from doing.

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We believe, teach, and confess that the salvation, glory, sanctification, and all blessings and benefits we receive from God is received by faith alone and not because of any works on our part. Faith in God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - alone justifies us before God.

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Sola Scriptura – by Scripture Alone We believe, teach, and confess that the prophetic and apostolic Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired Word of God. As such, Scripture alone gives us all doctrine and is the measure of all traditions, teachings, and practice. The authority of the Bible - which is the authority of the Apostles - is unique and supreme. We study and cherish the early Church Fathers. We embrace the decisions made by early Church Councils. We follow the traditions handed down through the centuries. But insofar as these are good, it is because they uphold and express the divine truth of the Scriptures. Other authorities can misjudge and lead people astray, but God’s Word cannot do so.