We Believe
Statement of Faith
The Bible
The Bible, including both Old and New Testaments as originally
given, is the verbally and plenarily inspired Word of God and is
free from error in the whole and in the part, and is therefore the
final authoritative guide for faith and conduct
The Trinity
There is one God eternally existent in three distinct persons in one
divine essence, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
God the Father
God the Father has revealed Himself as the Creator and preserver of
the universe, to Whom the entire creation and all creatures are
subject.
The Human Race
God created Adam and Eve in His image to live in fellowship with
Him. They fell into sin through the temptation of Satan and thereby
lost fellowship with God. Through their disobedience the entire
human race became totally depraved, that is, self-centered sinners
who oppose God, and who by nature are unable to trust, fear or love
Him. They are subject to the devil, and are condemned to death under
the eternal wrath of God.
God the Son
Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son, is the image of the invisible God. To
accomplish our redemption, He became fully human, being conceived of
the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus Christ, who is
true God and true man, by His perfect obedience and substitutionary
death on the cross, has purchased our redemption. He arose from the
dead for our justification in the body in which He was crucified. He
ascended into heaven, where He is now seated at the right hand of
God, the Father, as our interceding High Priest. He will come a
second time personally, bodily, and visibly to gather the believers
unto Himself and to establish His millennial kingdom. He will judge
the living and the dead and make an eternal separation between
believers and unbelievers. His kingdom shall have no end.
God the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is a divine person eternally one with the Father and
with the Son. Through the Word of God He convicts people of sin,
persuades them to confess their sinfulness to God and calls them to
faith through the Gospel. He regenerates, sanctifies, and preserves
believers in the one true faith. He comforts, guides, equips,
directs, and empowers the church to fulfill the great commission.
Means of Grace
The knowledge and benefit of Christ’s redemption from sin is brought
to the human race through the means of grace, namely the Word and
the sacraments.
Law and Gospel
Through the Word of the Law God brings sinners to know their lost
condition and to repent. Through the Word of the Gospel He brings
sinners to believe in Jesus Christ, to be justified, to enter the
process of sanctification, and to have eternal life. This occurs as
the Holy Spirit awakens them to see their sin, convicts them of
their guilt of sin, and calls them to repent and believe, inviting
and enabling them to accept God’s grace in Christ. Each one who thus
believes is instantly forgiven and credited with Christ’s
righteousness. The Word then teaches and guides the believer to lead
a godly life.
Baptism
In the Sacrament of Baptism, God offers the benefits of Christ’s
redemption to all people and graciously bestows the washing of
regeneration and newness of life to all who believe. God calls the
baptized person to live in daily repentance, that is, in sorrow for
sin, in turning from sin, and in personal faith in the forgiveness
of sin obtained by Christ. By grace we are daily given the power to
overcome sinful desires and live a new life in Christ. Those who do
not continue to live in God’s grace need to be brought again to
repentance and faith through the Law and Gospel.
Because the sinfulness of human nature passes on from generation to
generation and the promise of God’s grace includes little children,
we baptize infants, who become members of Christ’s believing church
through baptism. These children need to come to know that they are
sinners with a sinful nature that opposes God. Through the work of
the Holy Spirit, they need to confess their sinfulness and yield to
God; and possess for themselves forgiveness of their sin through
Jesus Christ, as they are led from the faith received in infant
baptism into a clear conscious personal faith in Christ as their
Lord and Savior and being assured of salvation, rely solely on the
finished work of Christ, and the power of the Gospel to live as
children of God.
Communion
In the Sacrament of Holy Communion, Christ gives to the communicants
His body and blood in, with, and under the bread and wine. He
declares the forgiveness of sin to all believers, and strengthens
their faith.
Salvation
Eternal salvation is available to every living human being on earth
by God’s grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. This
salvation consists of an instantaneous aspect and an ongoing,
continual aspect.
Justification
Justification is God’s gracious act by which He, for Christ’s sake,
instantaneously acquits repentant and believing sinners and credits
them with Christ’s righteousness. At that moment, God gives each one
who believes a new and godly nature and the Holy Spirit begins the
process of sanctification. There is no place for human effort in
justification.
Sanctification
Sanctification is God’s gracious, continual work of spiritual
renewal and growth in the life of every justified person. Through
the means of grace, the Holy Spirit works to reproduce the character
of Christ within the lives of all believers, instructing and urging
them to live out their new nature. The Holy Spirit enables believers
more and more to resist the devil, to overcome the world, and to
count themselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. The
Holy Spirit produces spiritual fruit in and bestows spiritual gifts
upon all believers. He calls, empowers and equips them to serve God
in the home, in the community, and as part of the Church Universal.
The process of sanctification will be complete only when the
believer reaches glory.
The Church
The Church Universal consists of all those who truly believe on
Jesus Christ as Savior. The local congregation is an assembly of
believers in a certain locality among whom the Gospel is purely
taught and the sacraments are rightly administered. The confessing
membership of the local congregation shall include only those who
have been baptized into "the name of the Father, and of the Son and
of the Holy Spirit," confess personal faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ, maintain a good reputation in the community and accept the
constitution of the Church of the Lutheran Brethren. It cannot,
however, be avoided that hypocrites might be mixed in the
congregation; that is, those whose unbelief is not evident to the
congregation.
Church Governance
The Church of the Lutheran Brethren practices the congregational
form of church government and the autonomy of the local
congregations. The office of pastor and elder is to be filled by men
only. The synodical administration has an advisory function as it
relates to the congregation, and an administrative function as it
relates to the cooperative efforts of the congregations.
Lutheran Confessions
The Lutheran confessions are a summary of Bible doctrines. We adhere
to the following confessional writings: The Apostles’ Creed, Nicene
and Athanasian Creeds, unaltered Augsburg Confession, and Luther’s
Small Catechism.
Core Values
The Bible is central in our congregations
and in our households. The Word of God is the focus of our
worship services, the textbook for our teaching ministries, and the
foundation of our daily lives. Whether we are preaching, teaching,
singing or just talking, we want to be people of the Word.
The Gospel is our treasure and our joy. We want the
Good News of God’s grace to us in Jesus Christ to be the centerpiece
of our mission. All people need the Gospel. God’s children need to
hear it again and again. The Good News is God’s power, which saves
us, draws us together and motivates us for service.
We revere God’s Law. The Law of God cannot save us,
but it is necessary for our salvation. We need to see our sin and be
driven to the cross of Christ for forgiveness. We need to be
reminded that we cannot earn God’s love or merit His blessings. We
need the ethical guidance that God’s Law gives. We dare not make up
our own morality.
The Word and the Sacraments are God’s precious means of
grace. The Word teaches us, Baptism washes us, and the
Lord’s Supper nourishes us. In our sacramental life together we are
brought again and again to the crucified and risen Jesus Christ, who
alone is the source of our salvation.
We cherish the love and fellowship of God’s people.
We need each other. We need the spiritual gifts, which the Holy
Spirit imparts to His people. We experience God’s peace as we
worship and work together, forgive one another, and bear one
another’s burdens.
We long for people to trust in Jesus Christ as Savior and
Lord, to come to know Him in a personal way. We are called
by the love of Christ to share His Gospel. Our mission is as local
as our neighborhood and as universal as the whole world
We seek to be people of prayer. Whether in public
worship, small groups or in our personal lives, we want prayer to be
foundational. Prayer supports and propels us in our mission. We
desire that prayer be as essential in our ministries as breathing is
to our physical life.
Statement on Sexuality
We affirm that standards of sexual morality must be consistent
with Biblical principles. We deny that unscriptural standards may be
accepted by the church simply because they have been accepted by
society.
Download
full statement on Sexuality (PDF file)