About Us Our Beliefs

Our Beliefs

Augsburg Confession 1530 (From the Preface)

“For as we all are under one Christ . . . we ought to confess the one Christ and everything ought to be conducted according to the truth of God; and this it is what, with most fervent prayers, we entreat of God.”

For nearly 500 years this statement in it’s whole has guided our church and congregations in matters of faith, belief and action.

Each generation has had to do battle against false doctrine and today is no different. Our goal is two-fold, to fight against that which is wrong and to proclaim that which is correct.


1. WORD OF GOD

Today, the major battle against that which is wrong, is the understanding of what the Bible really is in its essence. We believe teach and confess that the bible is true in it’s whole and is without error in substance or intent. Scripture is the Word of God. There are far too many in the Christian world that try and nuance this statement. The most popular is a statement of their own choosing declaring their belief that “Scripture contains the word of God,” allowing for leeway that some parts of Scripture may not contain the Word of God while others do. This we reject as both being nonsensical and false according to the Scriptures themselves. As long as we take such a stance, there are several “hot topic” issues that we are obligated to uphold. The church’s stance against being actively homosexual. The stance against abortion. The stance against actively helping suicide. The stance that it is important to struggle against sin as it is outlined in the 10 commandments. The obligation to seek mercy whenever possible and many other topics.

Let’s explore a few of these examples.

  1. While we may be obligated to state that active homosexuality is wrong, it does not follow that homosexuals cannot be forgiven members of the church. There is always forgiveness and we all live in the church under that active forgiveness. When Jesus states that, “I desire Mercy,” He is already indicating His desire to move the repentant sinner within the fold of the church. Even if there is active sin, yet a desire to repent, there is much that Mercy can address here.
  2. When we approach such a matter, we need first of all to take a look at the log in our own eye. We are not allowed to hate. After all we have not been given the insight into the hearts of our fellow human beings. We set aside our human nature to judge, hate and condemn in order that a soul might find the Mercy of God. 
  3. The same is true of Abortion, MAiD, and the failing nature of humankind against the 10
    commandments.

2. BAPTISM

The method by which we baptize is an endless round of arguments until we are on the same page as to what Baptism actually is. We confess the following: 

  1. Baptism is something that God does for us and is not to be confused with the response of our faith of the things we do for God, so to speak.
  2. Thus we call Baptism Sacramental, a sacrament.
  3. It brings with it the forgiveness of sins (this is something God does for us) and all that the forgiveness of sins offers. When we are baptized we tie ourselves to the death and resurrection of Christ as St. Paul in Ephesians 6:1-11 so clearly demonstrates.
  4. When Christ Himself was baptized in the river Jordan, He completed our Baptism for all eternity. Now, He Himself did not need to be baptized for the forgiveness of sins as John’s baptism offered but instead, He climbed into the waters of Baptism for our sake, to tie Himself to us in this Sacrament. This is the consequence of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit as is demonstrated by St. Mark’s Gospel 1:1-11. By tying Himself to us in our earthly life He confirms and extends His work as the Messiah in the flesh. (Incarnation) He can only do this as both God and Man.
  5. Thus, the mode of baptism is completely spurious as it wrongly tries to argue the law of mode rathe than the Gospel of the gift of God.
  6. We recognize that it is the water combined with the Word, despite the manner of the water being applied. It is, after all, what God puts into it that is important.

3. HOLY COMMUNION

  1. Holy Communion is, in its own way, very much like Holy Baptism. It is a combining of earthly things with the heavenly things in that special way to share the incarnation of Christ with us for the forgiveness of sins as well as the benefits of being a follower of Christ.
  2. The earthly things are bread and wine, which when combined with the Word of God, are the true Body and Blood of Christ. Matt. 26, Mark 14, Luke 22, 1 Corinthians 11. The Reformation Church Fathers of the Lutheran persuasion write that the body and blood are “in, with and under” the bread and wine.
  3. Again, this is a sacramental act, by which God shares with us the blessings of Himself and His presence. This is something God does for us, not us for Him.
  4. The blessings of Christ, Himself, are the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation and through that the strength to live a Godly life.
  5. We also are very concerned with the task of proper reception of Holy Communion. 1 Corinthians 1:28 calls on us to examine ourselves lest we eat and drink the body and blood of Christ to our damnation.
  6. There are many Christian Churches that understand, at least nominally, the real presence of the Body and Blood of our Lord in Holy Communion, but leave it to the individual to decide whether they have properly examined themselves. The other view, and the one we associate ourselves with is, that the church is our Lord’s creation to administer the forgiveness of sins, including Holy Communion, therefore it is the church’s responsibility to ensure those to whom they are serving Holy Communion know how to properly examine themselves and are doing so.

 

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