We Believe, Teach, and Confess

A Concise Doctrinal Statement of the
Evangelical Lutheran Synod

This doctrinal statement was adopted in June, 1992. It is not intended to replace the Book
of Concord or even one of the confessions therein, nor is it to be understood as
constituting a thorough presentation of our beliefs and practices; rather, it is to serve as an
up-to-date statement that can quickly inform interested persons of the Scriptural and
confessional position of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod on important matters.

1. GOD AND HIS WORD

We confess that the only true God is the Triune God, revealed in Scripture as the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There is only one Divine Essence, yet there are three eternal
Persons in that one Essence. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is a profound mystery which
we cannot fully understand, but we accept it in humble faith because it is clearly taught in
Scripture. For this reason "we worship one God in three persons and three Persons in one
God," as we confess in the Athanasian Creed. Although there are many in the world who
claim to follow and worship a "supreme being," only those who believe in the Triune God
-- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- can be saved. See Deut. 6:4, John 10:30, Matt. 28:19,
Acts 20:28, Rom. 8:9, 2 Cor. 13:14, I Pet. 1:2, Col. 2:8-9, John 5:23.

We confess that God reveals Himself to mankind, not only through creation and the
human conscience, but also and especially through the Holy Scriptures, His written Word.
The true way of salvation is revealed only through God's Word, and any claims for
revelation of the way of salvation through other means must be rejected. The main
purpose of Holy Scripture is to reveal to us that Jesus Christ is our only Savior. See Rom.
15:4 and 16:25-26, 2 Tim. 3:15, Luke 24:25-27, John 20:31, Rom. 10:14-17, Jer. 23:25-
29, John 14:6, Acts 4:12.

We confess that the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments, in their original
form as written by the prophets, apostles, and evangelists, were given by inspiration of
God. The Holy Scriptures are without error in everything they teach, including matters of
geography, science, and history, and they are the only infallible rule and norm of Christian
doctrine and practice. The Scriptures not only contain the Word of God (as if to say, some
of their teachings are the authoritative Word of God and others are not), but they are the
very Word of God in their entirety. We reject the so-called "historical-critical" or "higher-
critical" method of Biblical interpretation as an unwarranted and arbitrary manner of
dealing with Holy Scripture. The Scriptures are true and reliable in all that they report,
including their accounts of Old Testament and New Testament miracles. We therefore
regard the denial of these miracles as blasphemous and as setting up man's reason as a
judge over God's Word. Since the term "inspired" is often used in a loose sense, we
frequently use the expressions "verbally inspired" and "inerrant" in describing the authority
and reliability of these sacred documents which God caused His servants to write. See
John 10:35,1 Cor. 2:13, 2 Tim. 3:16, 2 Pet 1:20-21, 2 Pet. 3:15-17, 1 Thes. 1:5, 2:13.

2. KNOWING AND PROFESSING THE TRUTH

We confess that it is possible both to know the truth of God's Word and to profess it, and
that God requires us to do both. Taking one's stand on the Word in matters of doctrine,
after diligent study of Scriptures, is an act not of human pride but of humble submission
to God's authority. See John 8:31-32, John 17:17, 2 Tim. 1:13, James 1:21b.

3. THE CREATION AND THE FALL

We confess that God created all things in six days by the power of His Word, exactly as is
set forth in Genesis chapters 1 and 2 and elsewhere in Scripture. We therefore reject the
theories of "evolution," including "theistic evolution," not only because they lack a sound
basis in scientific evidence but especially because they contradict the divinely-inspired
account of creation as given by Moses in the Old Testament and confirmed by Christ in
the New. To attempt to describe each day of creation as a very long period of time ( a
"day-age," etc. ) is to tamper with the clear Word of God, for the first chapter of Genesis
records at the end of the account of each day's creation activity that "evening and morning
were the (first, second, etc.) day." See Gen. 1 passim, Ex. 20:11, Heb. 11:3, Matt. 19:4.

When Adam and Eve were created on the sixth day they were made in God's image -- that
is, they were morally righteous and were in every respect in perfect harmony with God.
Through their fall into sin Adam and Eve, with all their natural descendants, lost this
righteousness and became by nature sinful and corrupt. Because of the Fall all people
conceived in the natural way are, by nature, enemies of God, subject to God's wrath and to
physical and spiritual death. Because of this inherited corruption, called "original sin," no
person is able, even partially, to earn favor with God or avoid eternal condemnation by
means of his or her own efforts. See Gen. 1:27, 3:6 and 6:5, Ps. 51:5, Rom. 8:7, 1:18,
5:12 and 6:23, Eph. 2:3, Gal. 2:16b.

4. CHRIST'S PERSON AND OUR JUSTIFICATION

We confess that, in order to rescue fallen mankind, God the Father sent His only-begotten
Son, Jesus Christ, into the world. Throughout the Old Testament era God promised to
send a Savior who would crush Satan's power over the human race, and this promise was
fulfilled through the incarnation of the Second Person of the Trinity. Jesus Christ is true
God and true man in one Person, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin
Mary, and He is the world's only Savior from sin, death, and the devil. Because Jesus was
true God, He was able by His divine power to save us all; because He was true man, He
was able to be our substitute under God's Law. Christ was tempted in all things as we are
but was in every respect without sin. See John 1:1 and 14, Col. 2:9, Matt. 1:23,1 Tim.
2:5-6.

By His perfect life and His innocent sufferings and death Jesus has redeemed the entire
world. God thereby reconciled the world to Himself, and by the resurrection of His Son
declared it to be righteous in Christ. This declaration of universal righteousness is often
termed "objective justification." One has this justification as a personal possession and is
personally declared by God to be righteous in Christ when he or she is brought to faith in
Him as Savior. This is often called "subjective justification". If the objective fact of
Christ's atonement is not personally received by faith, then it has no saving benefit for
the individual. We reject as unscriptural any teaching that people can be saved apart from
faith in Jesus Christ. See 1 John 2:2, 2 Cor. 5:19, John 1:29, 2 Pet. 2:1, John 3:16-18, 2
Cor. 5:19, Rom. 4:25, 1:17 and
5:1-2.

5. THE MEANS OF GRACE

We confess that God has instituted certain Means of Grace through which He announces
and bestows the forgiveness of sins and the blessings of life and salvation, and through
which the Holy Spirit works faith in the individual sinner to receive these blessings. These
Means of Grace are His Word of the Gospel, which offers us free salvation through faith
in Christ; Holy Baptism, which is described in Scripture as a "washing of regeneration and
renewing of the Holy Spirit;" and the Lord's Supper, in which the true body and blood of
Christ are distributed to the communicants. It is the Word of God connected with the
earthly elements which makes Holy Baptism and the Lord's Supper effective means
through which forgiveness, life and salvation are truly offered to those who receive these
sacraments. The Gospel of Jesus Christ, in written, spoken and sacramental form, is able
to do all this because it is the power of God Himself.

Our Foundation:
The Means of Grace
God works in our hearts through the
Means of Grace: the Word of God,
Baptism and the Lord's Supper. Through
these means He brings us to faith in Jesus
as our Savior and preserves us in that faith.

Holy Baptism has the power to work the new life of faith in the hearts of sinners. This
regenerative washing "with water through the Word" is intended for all people, since all --
including infants and children -- are members of a sinful human race and are in need of
God's grace and forgiveness. Jesus has also commanded that "all nations" be baptized.
Confession of sins and Absolution are a return to, and a renewal of, one's Baptism. Holy
Absolution, a Means of Grace, is the declaration of forgiveness to penitent sinners in the
stead of Christ and by His command. It is not merely a wish that sin be forgiven, but it is a
powerful impartation of forgiveness. According to Christ's Word and institution, His body
and blood are truly present, distributed and received in the Lord's Supper, under the forms
of bread and wine. This Supper is intended for Christians who know and adhere to the
teachings of God's Word, who are able to examine themselves on the basis of that Word,
and who repent of their sins and look to Christ alone for forgiveness. The body and blood
of Christ are offered and received in this Sacrament for the remission of sins and for the
strengthening of faith. The forgiveness of sins which is offered by God through the Means
of Grace can be rejected by an unbelieving heart, but it is received for salvation by all who
believe in Christ. See Mark 16:15, Luke 24:47, John 15:3, Matt. 28:19, John 3:5, Eph.
5:26, Titus 3:5, Acts 2:38-39, 1 Cor. 10:16-17, 11:23-29, Matt. 26:28, Rom. 1:16, John
20:21-23, Mark 16:16, Rom. 3:28 and 4,5.

6. CONVERSION, GOOD WORKS, AND PRAYER

We confess that a person's conversion to faith in Christ is accomplished entirely by the
Holy Spirit, working through the Gospel. Because of the effects of original sin, the
unregenerate soul does not and cannot cooperate in its conversion from spiritual death and
unbelief to spiritual life and faith in Christ. See Eph. 2:4-9, Rom. 10:14-17, 1 Cor. 2:14
and 12:3.

We confess that good works are necessary fruits of faith in the life of a Christian and that
they proceed from a renewed heart that is thankful to God for His mercy and love.
Although there is no human cooperation in the matter of one's conversion and
justification, there is a cooperation on the part of the regenerate Christian in his or her life
of sanctification. Good works do not earn or contribute to one's salvation, but they
naturally flow from the living faith which is present in the hearts of those who have already
been saved by God's grace alone. See John 15:5, Rom. 6:1-2, Eph. 2:10, Rom. 12:1, Heb.
11:6, 2 Cor. 5:14-15.

Our Work of Preaching:
Go into All the World
Jesus said, "Go into all the world and
preach the Gospel to every creature."
Our Evangelical Lutheran Synod has
missionaries preaching and teaching God's
Word in Peru, Chile, the Czech Republic,
Ukraine and Australia. Home missionaries
are starting new congregations here in the USA.

We confess that a life of prayer will naturally follow from faith in Christ as Savior and that
a believer should bring his or her heartfelt thanks and concerns to God in prayer. It is the
teaching of Scripture, however, that God communicates with His people in matters of faith
and salvation only through His Word and Sacraments, the Means of Grace. The Christian
can be sure that God answers prayer according to His good and gracious will because of
the saving merits of Christ. See Phil. 4 6, 1 Thes. 5:17, Matt. 7:7, Rom. 10:17, 1 John
5:14-15, James 5:16b.

7. GOD'S ELECTION OF GRACE

We confess that those in this life who, through the Gospel, have been called, enlightened,
sanctified, and preserved in the true faith, have from eternity been elected according to
God's unmerited love to this adoption as His children, and have been chosen in Christ
"before the creation of the world" to be heirs of everlasting life. Therefore Christians can
and should be sure of their salvation, since God's promise is steadfast and His gracious
election to salvation stands firm. We reject the teaching that there is an eternal election to
damnation (double predestination) and that the offer of salvation which God makes
through the Gospel is not earnestly intended for all people. In faith we accept the teaching
of Scripture that those who are saved are saved by the grace of God alone, and that those
who are lost are lost because of their own unbelief and hardness of heart. See Rom. 8:26-
39, Eph. 1:3-6, 2 Thes. 2:13-14, 1 Tim. 1:15, 2 Tim. 1:12, Ezek. 33:11, Hos. 13:9.

8. THE CHURCH AND THE MINISTRY

We confess that there is one holy Christian Church which consists of all those who from
the heart truly believe in Christ as Savior and Lord. This Church, in its essence, is invisible
to our eyes, since no one can judge the sincerity of another's heart, but it is known
to God. We believe that the Church is to be found wherever the Word of God and the
Sacraments are in use. The Church of Jesus Christ is not to be equated with any particular
denomination or church body, or with the sum total of all Christian denominations and
church bodies. It is the will of God that Christians should gather together regularly for
mutual edification through Word and Sacrament, and that they should work together to
promote the extension of God's pure Means of Grace throughout the world. See Luke
17:20, 2 Tim. 2:19, Eph. 4:4-6, Heb. 10:25, Mark 16:15.

We confess that the Lord has instituted the office of the Public Ministry so that His
Means of Grace may be publicly administered for the well-being of His Church. Those in
this office by virtue of God's call through the church perform their duties on behalf of the
church and in the name and in the stead of Christ. We believe that no one should publicly
preach or administer the Sacraments without a proper call. When God's Word says that
women are not to teach or "exercise authority" over men in the church, this means that the
pastoral office cannot be conferred upon women, and that it is God's will that only
properly qualified men be called to this office. According to this same principle women
should not exercise authority over men in the congregational decision-making process,
such as by holding voting membership in an assembly which makes the final decisions for a
church. (Because Christian men and women are all members of the Body of Christ and
share in the privileges and duties of the "priesthood of all believers," the views of women
should be taken into account when such decisions are made.) See John 21:15-18, Acts
20:28, Rom. 10:14-15, Eph. 4:11, 1 Tim. 3:1-7, Titus 1:5, 1 Cor. 14:34, 1 Tim. 2:12, 1
Pet. 2:9, Gal. 3:28.

9. THE LAST THINGS

We confess that at the time of physical death a believer's soul goes to heaven and an
unbeliever's soul goes to hell. On the Last Day, Christ will return visibly to the world and
will raise the bodies of all the dead, both believers and unbelievers, at which time their
bodies and souls will be reunited. The believers will enter into eternal life in "the new
heavens and the new earth," but the unbelievers will be cast forever into "the fiery lake of
burning sulphur." We reject the teaching that the soul has no continuing, conscious
existence after the time of physical death (a soul sleep) and the teaching that the souls of
unbelievers will be annihilated on the Day of Judgment. We also reject as unbiblical all
forms of millennialism, that is, the teaching that Christ will reign visibly over an earthly
kingdom for a thousand years before the Day of Resurrection and Judgment. See Matt.
25:31-46, John 5:28-29, Mark 16:16, Eccl. 12:7, Luke 23:43, Mark 13:32-37, Luke 18:8,
John 18:36.

10. CHURCH FELLOWSHIP

We confess that Scripture requires that church fellowship be recognized and practiced
where there is a mutual confession of and commitment to the pure Marks of the Church,
the Word and Sacraments. Jesus Christ is the Head of His Church, and He governs and
teaches it by His Word, but deviation from the teaching of God's Word is not to be
tolerated in the church. We therefore reject unionism, that is, church fellowship with
adherents of false doctrine, and ecumenical endeavors which compromise the pure
doctrine of God's Word. We also reject participation or membership in religious
organizations which have features that are in conflict with the Christian faith, such as the
Masonic Lodge and similar organizations. At the same time we also condemn separatism,
i.e., the refusal to acknowledge and practice fellowship when there is agreement in
doctrine. See John 8:31-32, 1 Cor. 1:10, Eph. 2:19-20, Matt. 7:15-20, Rom. 16:17, Gal.
1:6-9, 2 John 9-11, Matt. 23:8, 1 Pet. 4:11, 2 Cor. 6:14-18.

11. CHURCH AND STATE

We confess that God has assigned certain responsibilities to the Church and certain
responsibilities to the State, which do not conflict with each other. The Church and the
State are each to operate within their own sphere of responsibility, using only those means
which God has entrusted to each to carry out their God-given tasks. To the Church God
has given the responsibility of calling sinners to repentance, preaching forgiveness through
the cross of Christ, and encouraging believers in their Christian life. To the State God has
given the responsibility of punishing evildoers and protecting the innocent, and of
promoting civil order among the people. The Church is not to exercise civil authority, and
the State is not to become a messenger of the Gospel nor to interfere with the Church's
Gospel ministry. See Rom. 13:1-7, Acts 5:29, 1 Tim. 2:2, Mark 16:15, Matt. 22:21.

Christian Education:
Our Evangelical Lutheran Synod believes
very strongly in Christian education. We
therefore encourage the establishment of
Christian Day Schools for the training of
our young. Sunday Schools are also
important. The Lord says, "Train up a
child in the way he should go; and when
he is old, he will not depart from it."
Proverbs 22:6

12. HUMAN LIFE AND HUMAN SEXUALITY

We confess that Scripture upholds the sanctity of human life. We recognize that God has
given the State the right to administer capital punishment and wage just wars, but we
believe that any taking of human life beyond that which is authorized by God is to be
abhorred. We believe that all human life has intrinsic value, regardless of its perceived
"quality," and that God calls on us to preserve His gift of life. Because abortion results in
the death of an unborn human being, we believe that it is never justified except in those
rare and tragic circumstances when the continuation of the pregnancy would clearly
threaten the life of the mother. Abortion for any other reason is a great sin in the eyes of
God. Because God is the giver and taker of life, we condemn any deliberate efforts to
shorten one's own life or the life of another, for example: suicide, euthanasia (mercy
killing), and the withholding or withdrawing of appropriate care from the critically ill
person. See Rom. 13:4 and 9, Ps. 139:13-16, Ps. 51:5, Luke 1:41, Jer. 1:5, Ps. 31:15,
Phil. 1:21-26, Lev. 19:16.

We confess that Scripture condemns homosexuality and extra-marital relations
(fornication and adultery) as sin. Nevertheless, when an individual caught up in such sins
truly repents, the forgiveness of the Gospel is to be fully applied. We confess that the
divine institution of marriage is to be heterosexual, in which, according to God's design, a
man and a woman may enjoy a life-long companionship in mutual love. We teach on the
basis of Holy Scripture that marriage is the only proper context for the expression of
sexual intimacy and for the procreation of children. See Rom. 1:26-27, 1 Cor. 6:9, 18 and
7:2-9, John 4:17-18, 1 John 1:9, Gen. 1:27-28 and 2:18-24, Matt. 19:4-6.

13. THE LUTHERAN CONFESSIONS

As orthodox, confessional Lutherans, we embrace as our primary confessions of faith the
Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church contained in the Book of Concord
of 1580, namely, the Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds; the Augsburg Confession
and its Apology; the Smalcald Articles (including the Treatise on the Power and Primacy
of the Pope); Luther's Small and Large Catechisms and the Formula of Concord (Epitome
and Solid Declaration). We accept these Confessions, not in so far as but because they
agree with Scripture, and we believe that they are a correct exposition of the teaching of
God's Word. Adherence to these confessions, drawn from Scripture, is in keeping with St.
Peter's exhortation: "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to
give the reason for the hope that you have" (1 Pet. 3:15). See also Heb. 13:7-9a.