The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod
accepts the Holy Scriptures as the inspired and inerrant Word of
God, and subscribes unconditionally to all the symbolic books of
the Evangelical Lutheran Church as a true and unadulterated
statement and exposition of the Word of God. We accept the
Confessions because they are drawn from the Word of God and on
that account regard their doctrinal content as a true and
binding exposition of Holy Scripture and as authoritative for
all Pastors, Congregations, and other Rostered Church Workers of
The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod.
We believe that the Bible is the infallible source of knowledge
about God and the Good News about His Son, Jesus Christ. We
recognize that the Bible was written by the inspiration of the
Holy Spirit and is without error.
We believe that God is the Creator of the universe and that He
sustains it with His mighty power. We believe that He created
Adam and Eve, our first parents, in His own image to live in
fellowship with Him.
We believe that Adam and Eve rebelled against God and so brought
sin and death into the world. We believe all people have
inherited this sin and can do nothing to change their human
nature. We believe that all people need forgiveness and new life
that God provides for us freely by His grace.
We believe that God sent His Son to be our Savior from sin,
death, and the power of the devil. We believe that Jesus Christ
took on Himself the punishment for our sin when He died on the
cross. God raised Him from the dead to demonstrate to the world
that His sacrifice had been accepted and that humanity's sin had
been paid for.
We believe that we receive forgiveness of sin through faith in
Jesus Christ. Faith receives the free gift of God's grace.
We believe that faith is created in the heart by the power of
the Holy Spirit who works through the "Means of Grace." The
Means of Grace are the Word of God and the Sacraments of Holy
Baptism and Holy Communion.
We believe that Holy Baptism is the means by which the Spirit
creates faith and through which God adopts us as His children.
We practice infant baptism because we believe they also are born
in sin and that God's promise of forgiveness extends also to
them.
We believe that Holy Communion is the means by which the Spirit
nurtures faith. We believe that the bread and wine of the Lord's
Supper actually deliver to us the true Body and Blood of Jesus
for the forgiveness of sin.
We believe that the Church is the fellowship of all those who
have come to faith in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. The
purpose of the Church is to nurture faith through the Word and
the Sacraments and to share the love of God through word and
deed with the whole world in order to make other people
disciples of Jesus Christ.
We believe that the fellowship God has established with
believers on earth will continue forever and that after this
life we will live forever with Him in Heaven for all eternity.
many more years of working toward greater fulfillment
of the Great Commission, "Go and Make Disciples."
