What We Believe
Overview
We hold to the historic teachings of Christian orthodoxy as articulated in the Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds. We also subscribe to the summaries of Christian doctrine articulated in the Lutheran Confessions. We profess that these creeds and confessions are faithfully drawn from and rightly express what is taught in the Holy Scriptures. This is what being “Lutheran” means.
Although the name “Lutheran” comes from Martin Luther (originally cast as an insult to people who aligned with him), Lutherans do not worship Luther or follow everything he wrote. Instead, we follow Luther in the sense that Luther followed Jesus Christ and taught his Word. Where Luther’s teachings agree with the Bible, we agree with him and follow his teachings. The simplest of these is Luther’s Small Catechism. The Augsburg Confession gives more detail on what Lutherans believe
God’s Word
We believe that God speaks to us and that his Words have the power to create and nurture faith in Jesus Christ. The Word of God comes to us in three ways: the Word written (the Bible), the Word proclaimed (when the Gospel is preached or shared), and the Word made flesh in the person of Jesus Christ.
In the Bible, God paints the big picture of his story of everything, centered in his Son, Jesus Christ. Throughout, we hear God speak his Law and his Gospel of salvation in Jesus. The Bible places us in the time between Christ’s ascension and his return in glory to make all things new.
We believe that the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible are inspired, inerrant, and authoritative over Christian life. The Bible is the sole rule and norm for Christian doctrine. That means that the Bible guides and sets the boundaries for our belief and confession.
The Problem – Sin
The Bible reveals that sin is the condition of all people that separates them from God. Sin entered the world through the disobedience of the first man and woman. It continues today as disobedience toward God, discord and dysfunction among people, and personal pain, distress, and death. No matter how hard a person tries or how good that person lives, there is no escape from sin apart from the work of Jesus Christ. Sin always results in eternal death and separation from God. Therefore, every person has an essential need for the Savior. (Cf. Genesis 3:1-15; Psalm 51:1-5; Acts 2:36-38; Romans 3:23)
God’s Grace
Grace is the undeserved and unearned favor of God. We believe that there is nothing within us as sinful creatures that warrants or deserves God’s kindness and that there is nothing we can do to make ourselves more worthy. Instead, God the Father, because he is good, looks upon us with mercy and, of his own volition, offers us a place in his forgiven family through faith in the finished work of his son, Jesus Christ.
Faith in Christ
Faith is a relationship of trust in the person, work, and promises of Jesus Christ alone, namely, trusting that it is for you. Faith is established by God through his Word.
In the same way a parent creates a trusting relationship with their child by taking the child in their arms, speaking to them, and caring for them, God establishes the gift of faith in his people. He reaches out to us through the Word of his Son, Jesus, and makes us rely on him in trust.
Later this saving faith will produce certain fruit such as understanding and articulation of this faith, and obedience to the truths of God’s Word. But the two should not be confused, faith and fruit are connected yet distinct.
Salvation
Salvation means forgiveness of our sins, reconciliation with God (and therefore with one another), and eternal life with God free from the burdens of sin and its curse.
Lutherans believe that mankind is saved by God’s grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ. This saving faith is created and strengthened not by looking inside of one’s self (to one’s own actions, intellect, or emotions) but by looking outside of one’s self (to God’s Word and promises in Christ).
Assurance of one’s salvation is to be sought by looking to God’s Word and promises in Christ, not by worrying about the strength or weakness of one’s own faith. In fact, anxiety regarding doubts, strength of faith, and certainty of salvation are signs of faith (however weak it may be), not signs of unbelief, since an unbeliever has no concern or anxiety about doubts, faith, or salvation.
The Church
We believe that the Church is not a building, but is God’s family, bound together by a saving faith in Jesus Christ and a common confession. We are born into this family through Holy Baptism and empowered to live as members of this family by the Holy Spirit, which we share. That’s who we are.
We join together in worship of God, in the name of Jesus, to hear his Word and receive his gifts. And we seek to share our lives together, gathering to grow in our faith, encourage each other, and to use our gifts to bless our neighbors. That’s what we do.
We believe that the Church has “marks” that help you see it. Wherever you hear God’s Word being preached in its truth and see his gifts of Lord’s Supper and Baptism being celebrated according to Jesus’ institution, you can be sure that his Church, his people, are present.
The Means of Grace
We confess that God normally works through means. He therefore chooses to deliver his grace through means. These are like pipes that bring “the goods” directly to you. We normally talk about the means of grace in terms of “Word and Sacrament.” The Word (discussed above) comes through writing, a human voice, or the Incarnate Son. The Sacraments are roughly defined as God’s Word made visible with means such as water, bread, and wine.
Baptism
Baptism is one of the “means of grace,” through which God creates and/or strengthens the gift of faith in a person’s heart (see Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16; 1 Peter 3:21; Gal. 3:26-27; Rom. 6:1-4; Col. 2:11-12; 1 Cor. 12.13).
At Fishers of Men we baptize all ages, from infants to elderly. All of us, regardless of age, need God’s grace and forgiveness, and faith in Christ. We can’t get this on our own. Baptism is the means, commanded by Jesus (Matt. 28:19-20) by which God mysteriously and officially connects us to forgiveness and marks us a member of his family. Your journey with Jesus, young or old, begins in your Baptism.
Along with the historic, Christian church we baptize all ages. We do this because the Bible says that even infants can believe (Matt. 18:6) and that new birth (regeneration) happens in Baptism (John 3:5-7; Titus 3:5-6). The infant’s faith cannot yet, of course, be verbally expressed or articulated by the child, yet it is real and present all the same (see e.g., Acts 2:38-39; Luke 1:15; 2 Tim. 3:15). The faith of the infant, like the faith of adults, also needs to be fed and nurtured by God’s Word (Matt. 28:18-20), or it will die.
Faith can also be created in a person’s heart apart from Baptism, by the power of the Holy Spirit working through God’s Word (written or proclaimed). Baptism should then soon follow conversion (cf. Acts 8:26-40) for the purpose of confirming and strengthening faith in accordance with God’s command and promise.
We do not condemn Christians who are falsely taught to avoid Baptism or who are unable to receive Baptism before their death. Salvation is by faith alone. But to set Baptism and faith against one another is an error we ought to avoid.
Therefore, Baptism should not be despised or willfully neglected, since it is explicitly commanded by God and has his precious promises attached to it. It is not a mere “ritual” or “symbol,” but a powerful means of grace by which God grants faith and the forgiveness of sins.
The Lord’s Supper
We believe that the body and blood of Jesus are mysteriously yet truly present in our celebration of the Lord’s Supper, in, with, and under the bread and wine according to Christ’s own words. This meal, therefore, is not merely a church custom or ordinance, but a divine means of grace instituted by our savior for the spiritual nurturing of his people to strengthen them to live in the faith and love their neighbors. The same Jesus who died on the cross, rose on the third day, and sits at the right hand of the Father also gives us in this meal his body and blood to eat and drink to strengthen our faith, cover us in forgiveness, and make us certain of our salvation.
The Lord’s Supper (also known as The Sacrament of the Altar, Holy Communion, or the Eucharist) is a family meal, meant to be celebrated and received by those who are baptized into the Christian faith, can rightly examine themselves (including at least basic instruction on this meal and repenting of their sins in accord with God’s Word), and who share in a common confession (1 Cor. 1:10; 11:28-29). If you are a guest and would like to commune with us, please speak to the pastor or an elder before service. If you do not share our confession, you are welcome to come to the Communion rail for a blessing. Simply cross your arms over your chest to indicate this.
The Image of God
We believe that all people are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). Among several things, this means that humanity reflects the divine in a way that is unique from all other creatures.
As such, we believe that every single human life is worthy of dignity and respect and that human life and wellbeing should be protected at every stage. This leads people of faith to care and advocate for the weak, vulnerable, and overlooked in our society.
Likewise, we believe that each human should aim to discern and live in accordance with God’s good design for our lives, believing it will lead to our individual and collective flourishing. This includes but is not limited to God’s biological, theological, and sociological design for human sexuality.
Mission
We believe that Christians are called not to condemn the world, but to hold out the Word of life through the sharing of the Gospel. (Philippians 2:16) We show mercy to others as Jesus did, that all people might come to know God as a merciful Father who sent His only Son that we might not perish, but have eternal life! (John 3:16)
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 our service, our congregations hold to a shared confession of Jesus Christ as taught in Holy Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions, which we believe, teach, and confess to be a correct interpretation and presentation of Biblical doctrine.
Study Resources
The Synod’s Commission on Theology and Church Relations provides study documents and statements of theological issues. Answers to theological questions may be found on the Frequently Asked Questions web site.
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