Summary Of Beliefs
What do we Believe as the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod?
We believe that the Bible is the ONLY source of knowledge we have about God and His forgiveness and is also the way in which He speaks to us today. It was written by men as they were directed and guided by God’s Holy Spirit, and so is true and without error.
There is only ONE TRUE GOD. He has revealed Himself in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
God the Father is the Creator of the universe with all of its grandeur and beauty, and He alone sustains it with His almighty power.
God the Son, in His perfect life on earth, did what no one else can do… through His death on the cross, He took it upon Himself to pay the ultimate punishment for sin. He died on the cross - a death that was due by all peoples. By defeating death and rising from the dead, on the third day, Jesus showed the world that His sacrifice on the cross had been accepted by God the Father, paying for man’s sin. Because Jesus won lives eternally, we, too, shall live eternally. This promise is for you and your family.
God the Holy Spirit gave us this new relationship with Jesus. By giving us faith in who Jesus is and what Jesus did and continues to do for us, the Spirit brings about His forgiveness upon us, thanks to God the Son. The Holy Spirit also encourages and nurtures us as we grow in our relationship with the Lord and each other in love.
The Church is the fellowship of all who have come to faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. God has given His Church two great gifts to continue its growth: Baptism, to create and sustain faith, and The Lord’s Supper, to nurture faith. In His Supper, our Lord Jesus give us His body and blood in and with the bread and wine physical statements that we are forgiven.
A Christian is a member of the Church not because of what he has done or who he is, but because God has called him into relationship with Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. While here on earth, our imperfections remains with us. But thanks to Jesus, God sees us as perfect and holy. Christians are called to live for Jesus, seeking to serve and honor Him in all facets of life. Life cannot be divided into compartments where Jesus is not present, for He is the author and Lord of all of my life. To know Him is the only way to know what true life is all about, and serving Him is life’s greatest privilege.
Death is no longer something to be feared. Rather, all those who trust in Jesus will live in joy with Him in heaven for eternity. Death is now simply a doorway to another level of intimacy with God.
God is a God of Love and Forgiveness. His greatest love is shown to us in His Son, Jesus. Forgiveness is ours because of the death and resurrection of Jesus. His love is perfect in an imperfect world. Despite the sins and wrongs we have done in our life, Jesus’ love and forgiveness are still here for us, right now. We are somebody because of Jesus!
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.” – Ephesians 2:8, 9