WHAT WE BELIEVE
With the universal Christian
Church, St. John's Lutheran Church 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," we accept and teach 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 short phrases: Grace alone, Faith alone, Scripture 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.
Faith Alone
By
His suffering and death as the substitute for all people of all time,
Jesus purchased and won forgiveness and eternal life for them. Those who
hear this Good News and believe it have the eternal life that it
offers. God creates faith in Christ and gives people forgiveness through
Him.
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.
Who is Jesus?
For
more than 2,000 years people have asked the question, "Who is Jesus?".
We were not present when Jesus lived on this earth, but in the Bible we
have the record of his birth, life, death on the cross, and
resurrection. Study of the Bible, God's Word, will enable you to seek
out the answer to this age-old question.
What does "Synod" mean?
The
word "Synod" in The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod comes from Greek
words that mean "walking together." The term has rich meaning in our
church body, because congregations voluntarily choose to belong to the
Synod. Though diverse in their service, these congregations hold to a
shared confession of Jesus Christ as taught in Holy Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions which
they believe are a correct interpretation and presentation of Biblical
doctrine. Contained in The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church, these statements of belief were put into
writing by church leaders during the 16th century. The simplest of these
is Luther's Small Catechism. The Augsburg Confession gives more detail on what Lutherans believe.