What we believe and teach
We confess the faith of the historic Christian church as it has always been taught
in the three creeds (Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian), that there is only one
true God, and yet in this one God there are three persons: God the Father, God
the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit.
We confess that, since Adam fell into sin, all people are conceived and born
entirely sinful, standing under God’s wrath, and are unable to save themselves.
We confess that God the Son was born of the virgin Mary. This Jesus Christ, who is
true God and true man, died on the cross and rose to life again in order to
save the world from God’s wrath. We wait for Him to return on the Last Day to
judge the world and take us, His children, to heaven.
We confess that we cannot be forgiven before God by our own efforts, but that we
receive the forgiveness of sin and are made right with God by grace, for
Christ’s sake, through faith.
We confess that God has provided the way for us to receive this saving faith: the
Holy Spirit has promised to give faith through the preaching of the Gospel and
the Holy Sacraments.
We confess that those who believe in Jesus Christ show their faith through their
love and good works to others.
We confess that the church is the place where believers are gathered in the
liturgy to hear the true Gospel preached and to receive the Sacraments as
Christ instituted them.
We confess that in Holy Baptism God makes us His children, gives us faith, and
washes away our sins. Baptism is therefore necessary for all people: infants,
children, and adults alike.
We confess that when we are truly sorry for our sins and confess them, we receive
forgiveness for these sins from our pastor—as certainly as if Christ spoke the
words Himself.
We confess that in the Lord’s Supper the true Body and Blood of Jesus Christ are
really present in the bread and wine, and that we receive them with our mouths
for the forgiveness of sins.
We confess that the only authority for Christian teaching and life which never
errs or leads us astray is God’s Word, which He has given to us in the Old and
New Testament Scriptures.
This is a brief summary of the teachings contained in
the Augsburg Confession (1530), the fundamental doctrinal statement of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church. There is more information available from the site of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church of England.
