What do we belive?

To be Confessional Evangelical-Lutherans means that we are:

1) Confessional. This means that we are a confessing Church. We confess the truths of the Holy Scriptures and reject what the Scriptures reject.

What do we then confess?
We confess nothing less than Christ Himself — that He came into the world as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people. That includes you and me.

We believe that humanity has fallen so deeply into sin that there is nothing we can do to save ourselves. Therefore, Jesus had to die for us.

Furthermore, we confess what the Christian Church has always confessed throughout history, as clearly summarized in the three Ecumenical Creeds. We hold to these Creeds because they are completely biblical in every word.

The only place we can truly know God and His purpose for us and for the whole world is in the Bible — the inspired and inerrant Word of God.

Our Lutheran Confessions clearly state that “We believe, teach, and confess that the only rule and standard according to which all doctrines and teachers are to be judged are the prophetic and apostolic Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments alone.”
(Formula of Concord, Epitome I, 1)

As Lutherans

2) Evangelical. As Lutherans, we believe that the only way to receive eternal salvation is through the person and work of Jesus Christ. No matter how good our deeds might seem, there are no works of our own that can make us right before the living God. James 2:10 shows us how serious this is:

“For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.”

This means that even one sin makes us lawbreakers. Therefore, Jesus had to come — God in the flesh — as the only sinless person, to atone for the sins of the whole world.

Scripture contains two main teachings: Law and Gospel. The Law says: “Do this!” The Gospel says: “Jesus has done this for you!” The Law shows us that we are sinners condemned to eternal death, but thanks be to God — the Gospel shows us that Christ came for condemned sinners, took the punishment upon Himself, and gives us His righteousness in exchange!

3) Lutheran. We are not Lutheran because our main task would be to follow a man named Martin Luther. Of course, we believe that Dr. Luther was a great teacher who helped the Church understand the Scriptures more clearly. But he was also a sinner like everyone else.

To be Lutheran means that we follow the same biblical teaching and tradition that Dr. Martin Luther rediscovered in the 16th century. This teaching is the teaching of the Bible, summarized in the four Solas of the Reformation:
Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone),
Sola Gratia (Grace alone),
Solus Christus (Christ alone), and
Sola Fide (Faith alone).

As Lutherans, we are not against the traditions of the Church. On the contrary, we gladly say “Amen” to all traditions and teachings that agree with the Scriptures.
But everything that does not have its foundation in God’s Word we reject as human opinions — no matter if it comes from a great teacher, a church council, or even an angel from heaven (Galatians 1:6–9).

Because to be Lutheran is to be biblical — to believe, teach, and confess according to the Word of God alone!