- God
- There is only one God, who exists in three Persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:16-17, Matthew 28:19), who we also call the Holy Trinity. Trinity means three in one. To read more about the Holy Trinity, click here.
- God is eternal with no beginning (Isaiah 40:28).
- God is the Creator of all things (Genesis 1:1, 2 Kings 19:15, Nehemiah 9:6, Psalm 33:6, John 1:1-3, Colossians 1:16). Everything was created good in the beginning (Genesis 1:1-31). God created mankind, male and female, in His image (Genesis 1:26-28, 5:1-2, 9:6, Matthew 19:4-6) There was no sin and death at the beginning of creation (Genesis 2:15-17, Genesis 3, Romans 5:12-17).
- God is merciful and gracious and cares for His Creation (Exodus 34:6, Psalm 104:14-15, Psalm 116:5, Psalm 145, Psalm 147, Job 12:10, Hebrews 1:3, Matthew 5:45, Matthew 6:26, Acts 14:16-17).
- He has made Christians His children through His Son Jesus Christ, whom He sent into the world to die and rise for us so that we can have eternal life and forgiveness of sins in Him (John 3:16-18, 1 John 4:7-10).
- Sin
- Sin is our state of rebellion against God. When we defy God and His good will for us by our thoughts, words, and actions, those are sins. We sin because we are sinners. Other words for sin are debt (Matthew 6:12), disobedience (Romans 5:19), fault (Matthew 18:15), iniquity (Psalm 38:18), lawlessness (1 John 3:4), rebellion (Deuteronomy 13:5), transgression (Psalm 32:5), trespass (Romans 5:17, unbelief (John 3:18), wickedness (Genesis 39:9), and wrongs (Colossians 3:25).
- We believe that God created humanity without sin (Genesis 6:31). Sin separated us from God when Adam and Eve fell into temptation at the beginning (Genesis 3). Sin corrupted all of God’s good creation (Romans 8:19-22), including us humans, and has made us spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1-3, 1 Corinthians 2:14). We have all inherited a sinful nature from Adam and Eve (Genesis 5:3). This is called Original Sin which the Bible clearly teaches (Genesis 5:3; Romans 5:12-17). We are conceived and born as sinners (Psalm 51:5). Because we are sinners, we will die (Romans 6:23). We only deserve God’s wrath and judgment (Romans 5:12, 6:21-23, Ephesians 5:3-6, Colossians 3:5-8, 1 John 3:8). We cannot save ourselves from sin and death (John 8:34, Romans 7:14-25, Hebrews 2:14-15.)
- Jesus
- We believe that because we cannot save ourselves from sin and death, we need a Savior. We believe that our Savior from sin, death and condemnation is Jesus Christ.
- Jesus is true God and true man (John 1:1,14; 8:58; 10:30; 20:28). He is the Son of God begotten from the Father, but not made.
- He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary (Luke 1:30-35; 2:7, Galatians 4:4-7, Hebrews 2:9-17). He is the Savior of the world promised long ago at the beginning when Adam and Eve fell into sin (Genesis 3:15, Matthew 1:20-25).
- He died to pay for all of our sins and rose from the dead for our justification, conquering death and the grave (Isaiah 52:13-53:12, Matthew 26-27, Mark 14-15, Luke 22-23, John 10, 18-19, Galatians 1:4, 1 Corinthians 15:3, 1 Peter 1:18-21, 2:24). He will never die again but lives for eternity so that we too shall live with Him forever (Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, John 14:19, 11:25, 20-21, Romans 4:25, 5:10).
- He ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father where He rules over all things and sustains His Church through Word and Sacraments (Luke 24:50-53, Acts 1:6-11, Colossians 1:15-20, Hebrews 1:3-4; 2:5-9).
- He will return on the Last Day to raise the dead (1 Corinthians 15:51-57, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18), gather His Church to Himself, judge the wicked world (Matthew 25:31-46), and inaugurate the new heavens and new earth where those who have faith in Him for salvation will spend eternity in everlasting joy and peace with no sin and death to trouble them any longer (Isaiah 65:17-25, Revelation 21-22).
- Salvation
- We believe salvation is found in no one else but Jesus Christ our Lord (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). He is the Savior of all people and desires for all people to have faith in Him and live with Him for eternity (Romans 3:21-26, 8:1, Ezekiel 33:11, 1 Timothy 2:3-6). This is the reason why Christ sends His Church out into the world to share the good news of His saving death and resurrection (Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-16, Luke 24:44-48, John 20:31, Romans 10:13-17, 1 Timothy 2:6-7, 1 Peter 1:24-25).
- The Bible
- We believe the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, are the inspired Word of God written by different authors through many centuries (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:19-21), and all of Scripture points to Jesus Christ and what He has done for us by His death and resurrection (Luke 24:27, 44-47; John 5:39, 20:31).
- Baptism
- We believe that Baptism is a gift of God through which He makes us His disciples. We are baptized into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit as Jesus has commanded (Matthew 28:19). In Baptism God cleanses us by the washing of water with the word, making us holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5:25-27, 1 Corinthians 6:11). In Baptism is we are buried with Christ and raised to new life in Him (Romans 6:3-5, Colossians 2:11-12). In Baptism, we put on Christ and are made one in Christ (Galatians 3:27-29). In Baptism we are born again by water and the Holy Spirit and are united in the Holy Spirit in one body (John 3:5, 1 Corinthians 12:12-13). In Baptism we have salvation and the forgiveness of sins because of the promises of God attached to this Sacrament (Acts 2:38-39, 22:16, Titus 3:5-8, 1 Peter 3:21). Baptism is for all people no matter what age, whether you are an infant or a hundred years old (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38-39, 16:13-15).
- As Martin Luther writes in his Small Catechism that Baptism “works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare (SC IV 2).” Baptism is God’s work, not ours (Titus 3:5-8). There is no place for us to save ourselves with our own good works.
- The Lord’s Supper
- We believe that in the Lord’s Supper the bread and wine truly are the body and blood of Jesus Christ given and shed for us for the forgiveness of our sins just He said (Matthew 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26). To learn more about our teachings and practices on the Lord’s Supper click here.
- Love and Good Works
- We believe that God calls us to live lives of love and good works in response to the love and salvation that He freely gives to us through faith in Jesus. (John 13:34, 1 John 4:7-11) Love and good works are the fulfillment of God’s Law. (Exodus 20:1-17, Mark 12:28-31, Romans 13:8-10) If we want to know if something is an act of love or a good work, we compare it to God’s Law for us as revealed in His Word.
- It is against God’s will for us to pursue, cling to, and celebrate sin. To continually reject God’s Law and practice sin against Him is to reject God and be subject to His wrath. (Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23, John 8:31-36, Colossians 3:1-14, Galatians 5:16-21, 1 Corinthians 6:9-20, 1 John 3:4-10) God’s Gospel of free forgiveness of sin and salvation is not an excuse for us to sin. Instead, God calls us to believe in Him, repent of sin, and live according to His will. (Romans 6, Mark 1:14-15, Luke 5:27-32, John 8:10-11, Ephesians 5:1-21, James 2:14-18) We are called to “bear fruit in keeping with repentance”, not to continue in our sin and unbelief. (Matthew 3:8-10, Luke 3:10-14)
- Good works are gifts from God that He prepares for us (John 15:5, 16-17, Ephesians 2:10, Galatians 5:16-26, Philippians 1:6, Titus 2:14). When we are called to faith in Jesus Christ for salvation, we are also called to love God and our neighbor.
- Our good works do not earn our salvation. Salvation is given to us by grace though faith in what God has done for us in His Son, Jesus Christ. (John 3:16-17, John 10, John 19:30, Romans 3:20-28, Ephesians 2:1-9, Hebrews 11:6)
- God does not promise us that we will we be able to live perfect lives of love and good works this side of the resurrection of the dead. God calls us to strive against sin and to return to Him in repentance to receive forgiveness when we do sin. (Joel 2:13, Mark 1:14-15, James 2:8-13, Luke 5:27-32, Luke 18:9-14, Romans 6:1-7:25, Philippians 3:7-21, Hebrews 4:14-16, 1 John 1:5-2:2, Lamentations 3:22-24) We will live completely without sin when God raises us in body and soul at the resurrection on the last day. (Romans 7:24-8:25, 1 Corinthians 15:50-58, Colossians 3:4, Philippians 1:6, 3:20-21, 1 John 3:1-3, Revelation 21:5, 21:22-22:5)
We acknowledge and accept all the Confessional writings of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, contained in the book of Concord of the year 1580, to be the true and genuine exposition of the doctrine of the Bible. Click here to read the book of Concord.
Redeemer Lutheran Church is a congregation of the Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod. Click here to read more about our Synod’s beliefs.