First Saint Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church

What We Believe

The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod teaches and responds to the love of the Triune God, the Father creator of all that exists; 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 one God, coequal and coeternal.

Being Lutheran, our congregations accept and teach the Bible-based teachings of Martin Luther that inspired the reformation of the Christian Church in the 16^th century. The teachings of Luther and the reformers can be summarized in three short phrases: grace alone, scripture alone, and faith 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 his Son Jesus to love the unlovable and save the ungodly.

Scripture Alone

The Bible is God's inerrant and infallible word, in which he reveals his Law and Gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ. It is the sole rule and norm for Christian doctrine.

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 it offers. God creates faith in Christ, and gives people forgiveness through him.

The word synod in The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod comes from the Greek word that means "walking together." It has rich meaning in our church body because congregations voluntarily choose to belong to the synod. Diverse in their service, these congregations hold a shared confession of Jesus Christ as taught in Holy Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions.

The congregations of the synod are confessional. They hold to the Lutheran Confessions as the 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 16^th Century.

^{Adapted from A Week in the Life of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod �1996 Concordia Publishing House.}