What does it mean to be Confessionally Lutheran?

There are many ways to answer this question. I thought each of the six words in our official congregation title would make a fitting series to explain our beliefs.  

–Pastor Mark Stirdivant 

Christ 

“We preach Christ crucified…” Our congregation’s entire message centers on Jesus Christ, who is the true Son of God, equal to the Father in His divinity, and true man, born of the Virgin Mary. He was conceived, born, and lived on earth without sin, that is, He is untouched by humanity’s disobedience to the God who created us. He willingly accepted the entire punishment that the Father required of humanity for their sin, died on the cross, and His body physically rose from the dead as the acceptance of that substitutionary payment. All of the Bible is inspired by God the Holy Spirit, and all of it bears testimony to Jesus Christ. 

Our 

We believe that every individual baptized Christian is personally covered by the forgiveness that was paid for by the death of Jesus Christ. At the same time, our Lord has called us together as a family of faith, a group that is precious in the sight of God. All Christians, along with Jesus, pray together to the Father as His beloved people. We are commanded to do good works that extend Christ’s love to fellow believers, as well as to all people. But our good works do not gain or improve our standing in God’s kingdom. They are rather the proof that we trust in Jesus, and not in ourselves. By both word and action, we bear witness to God’s love that is meant for all people without partiality. 

Savior

Mankind was created perfect on the literal sixth day of our universe’s existence. Soon afterward, according to Genesis 3, our human race’s original parents disobeyed God and plunged all of us into the curse that Jesus conquered when He died and rose from the dead. Of course, we worship an awesome God. Yes, Jesus is the ultimate model of how one should do their loving works for others. But most of all, we trust in Christ as our Savior, the restorer of all mankind in the perfect image of God. The forgiveness He gives us as we gather in worship for the Divine Service is our fountain of eternal salvation, the guarantee of our bodily resurrection, and the complete reversal of the universal curse.

Evangelical
As heirs of the Reformation, we proudly proclaim the Bible’s two basic teachings of Law and Gospel. The Law gives us God’s commands and tells us what is pleasing to Him. The Law also threatens real punishments that our sins against God have deserved. The Gospel is God’s good news that Jesus has suffered all our punishment and He richly pours out forgiveness and comfort for us, whatever we may face in our lives. All His perfection counts in our favor, as we stand before God clean, forgiven, and precious in His sight. The Gospel changes our hearts to believe in Jesus. It succeeds according to God’s will, and not necessarily by mankind’s standards or measurement.

Lutheran
To us, it is more than a name and a man. Martin Luther’s teaching upheld the Bible as our one and only unchanging standard of authority in the church. Our Lutheran Confessions, as contained in the Book of Concord, faithfully teach the Bible’s truth in all subjects they address, and they give us the framework to answer the questions posed in our day with the same fidelity to the Bible. We do not change or reinterpret the Bible to fit cultural or political sensitivities. We are unashamed of our commitment to pure teaching, historic Lutheran liturgy and the Christian’s vocation in the world as a witness to Christ and His Word, the Bible.
 

Church
Much more than a random group that happens to gather together, we are God’s holy, chosen people, a flock receiving spiritual care and guidance from our pastor, whom Jesus authorized to proclaim to us His Word directly from the Bible and to forgive our sins. We have studied the teachings of our pastor as laid out in Luther’s Small Catechism, and we affirm that those teachings are true and Biblical.
 

We would love for you to join with us to receive our Lord’s gifts. When you meet with our pastor, evaluate his teachings for yourself, and if you agree that they are in full alignment with the Bible, then we joyfully welcome you to join our communion of faith.

For more information, click here: Book of Concord FAQs