We believe, teach and confess along with the whole Christian Church that:

• The true God is distinct from His creation. Just as a house is something other than its designer, God is distinct from all He created. This one true God made everything else that exists. Life, gravity, sunshine, rain, and everything else that has been made are not independent agents able to do things on their own, but they are always under God's control. They are not gods, but only instruments that the true God made (Genesis 1; Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 44:6-8, 45:5-6; 1 Corinthians 8:4).
• There are no parts or divisions within the Godhead. Yet God has revealed in His word that He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Father, who is the Creator and Preserver of all things, sent His Son (who is fully God just as the Father is) into the world. The Son took on human form and revealed the Father's will to us through His words and actions. The Father and the Son now send the Holy Spirit (who is fully God just as the Father and the Son are) to us so that we might see what has been shown us through the Son and turn to the true God in faith (Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19; John 14:26, 15:26; 2 Corinthians 13:14).
• Virtually everyone would acknowledge that all human beings are imperfect. But our problem is not simply that we do bad things. Our problem is more serious than this. Our natural inclination is to turn toward evil and turn away from good. We do not love, trust, or dread displeasing the One who made us. Instead of turning to God when we are in trouble and turning to Him for every blessing, we turn aside to other gods, substitutes for Him that we have invented. Because we stubbornly insist on clinging to substitutes for God and His gifts, we deserve to be cast out of His presence forever. We deserve His wrath and condemnation (Romans 3:9-20; Ephesians 2:1-3).
• God has intervened to rescue us from this terrible situation. God the Father sent His only Son to rescue us. There was never a time when God's Son did not exist. But at a particular time and place the Son took on human flesh and was born of the Virgin Mary. Jesus Christ is therefore unique for He alone is both true man (fully human just as we are) and also true God (fully God just as the Father and the Spirit are). By taking our place under the Law and keeping it perfectly and then going to the cross and dying for us, Jesus has won God's favor for all people of all times and places. On the third day after His crucifixion, Jesus rose from the dead showing us that He had defeated sin and death for us. Because of Him, we can be confident that God is no longer angry with us, but delights in us (John 1:1-3, 14; Galatians 4:4-5; 1 Timothy 2:3-6).
• Although we deserve God's just punishment, He clears us of all charges when we trust in Christ the One He has sent. We have God's approval and are counted as His dear children, not because of the works we have done, but because of Jesus Christ and the works He has done. He has taken away God's wrath. He has won for us a place in God's family through His perfect obedience and sacrificial death.
• When we trust Jesus Christ to save us from what our sins deserve, we will naturally respond in gratitude and do those things that are pleasing to God. However, we must be clear that these good works are the fruit of knowing God's kindness and generosity in Christ, not the cause of His kindness and generosity. When the Scriptures say that we are saved by grace, this means we are saved because of the favorable attitude that God has toward us on account of Christ. We are not saved because God sees we are making progress toward becoming more like Him. We are saved because God sees the work Jesus our Savior did for us (Romans 3:21-28; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:4-7).
• When God won forgiveness, life and salvation for all people through Christ, His work did not end. He is not waiting for us to reach out and grab hold of these blessings. He delivers Christ's gifts to us using the instruments He has chosen. Through the proclamation of the Gospel, Baptism, Absolution, and the Lord's Supper, God applies to the individual the treasures Christ has won for all. These gifts do not come to us all by themselves. A human mouth is needed to speak the Gospel and human hands are needed to administer the sacraments. Therefore, Christ has instituted the pastoral office. He places men in this office to distribute His gifts by using the instruments He has established (Matthew 28:19; Luke 24:47; John 20:21-23).
• We are confident that God uses these instruments to bring people to faith and keep them in that faith. Wherever the Gospel is taught in its truth and purity and Baptism is administered according to Christ's instructions, the Holy Christian Church will be present. The Church will be there even though some who gather around God's word and the sacraments are not true believers (Isaiah 55:10-11; Acts 2:47, 5:14, 19:20).
• When we talk about the Gospel, Baptism and the Lord's Supper as the instruments God uses, we are not putting restrictions on God. God can do whatever He wants. Instead we believe God's word places restrictions on us. Where are we to go to find God's help and blessing? We ought to go where God has promised to be present. We should use the instruments that He has established, not ones that we have invented. Thus we are to hear His word preached in its truth and purity. Also we are to be baptized, confess our sins and receive absolution, and go to the Lord's Supper. This is where God creates and sustains faith. This is where He gives us the spiritual help we need. (John 17:17-20; Romans 1:16, 10:14-15)
• Our Lord commanded Baptism in Matthew 28 by saying, "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit." When His instructions are followed and water is applied in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the water is "not simple water only," but it is water that is wrapped in God's command and promise. Therefore, it "works forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare." (Matthew 28:19-20; Romans 6:3-4; 1 Peter 3:21)
• In John 20, our Lord also sent the Apostles out to act on His behalf and forgive and retain sins. Whose sins are to be forgiven? The sins of those who repent. In other words, when a sinner confesses that his sinful actions are wrong and deserving of punishment, the pastor is commissioned to absolve or forgive his sins. However, those who do not repent are not to be forgiven. When the pastor forgives or retains sins, he is acting on behalf of Christ and his words are "as valid and certain, in heaven also, as if Christ, our dear Lord, dealt with us Himself." (Matthew 16:19, 18:15-18; John 20:21-23)
• The Lord's Supper is "the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ under the bread and wine, for us Christians to eat and drink, instituted by Christ Himself." All who eat the bread and drink the wine receive the body and blood of Christ, but not all receive the benefits of Christ's work. Only those who believe Christ's words regarding this sacrament receive the gifts of forgiveness, life and salvation. We are to believe Christ's words, "Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins." If we do, we have "what they say and express, namely, the forgiveness of sins." (Matthew 26:26-28; 1 Corinthians 11:23-29)
• Jesus Christ will return one day just as He promised, and on that Day, He will judge all people, both living and dead. He will raise the bodies of all who have died and we will all stand before Him. Those who have done good will receive eternal life and those who have done evil will be eternally condemned. Those who have done good are those who received the messengers Christ sent and rejoiced in the Good News of salvation that they proclaimed. Those who have done evil are those who rejected these messengers and their message (Matthew 10:5-7, 40-42; 25:31-46; John 5:28-29).

In addition to these basics, the Lutheran Church stresses two themes that are essential for understanding what the Bible teaches:

• The central teaching of the entire Bible has to do with Christ's gifts and how we receive them. Jesus Christ has won forgiveness, life and salvation for us, and these gifts are ours through faith alone. The faith that receives Christ's gifts is simply confidence in God's mercy. Lutherans traditionally call this teaching justification. We stress that St. Paul is especially clear in saying that although we deserve God's just punishment, He clears us of all charges when we trust in Christ the One He has sent. Paul is not the only one who says this, however. There are many ways in which the Bible shows us that God counts us as His children because He is merciful, not because we deserve it. Not only is justification the most important teaching in the Bible, everything else is connected to it. The other things the Bible says either prepare the way for the central teaching or flow out of it as its fruit.
• God is the Creator and all good things come from Him. We, therefore, ought to seek all good things from Him and thank Him for the gifts He has given. However, we turn away from God and are ungrateful. The Ten Commandments contain instructions that God has given for our good. However, we do not follow His commands perfectly. Thus the Bible reveals that we are sinners in need of a Savior. This prepares the way for the central message of the Bible, the Good News about Christ. This is vital for without this knowledge, which points an accusing finger at us, we would discard Christ's gifts thinking we do not need them.
• The Good News about Christ produces a change of heart in those who believe it. The Holy Spirit opens the eyes of Christians and enables them to see God's gifts and treasure them. God's gifts include our neighbor and His creation. We are confident that God uses these gifts as His instruments in blessing us and many others. Therefore, with the Spirit's help we act appropriately. We help our neighbor (especially those in need) and act as good stewards of His creation. The Christian, of course, does not treasure God's gifts perfectly. Thus we constantly return to the Good News for comfort and hope. Only this Good News gives us the strength to live as God wants us to. It gives us confidence that God will keep His promises and thus gives us the strength to act appropriately and treasure God's gifts.
• Notice that everything flows through the central hub of God's kindness and generosity in Christ. It does great harm to the Bible's message when people fail to make the proper connections to the central hub. For example, some say that good works prepare the way for God's accepting us. This places good works where they do not belong. God accepts us because of Christ's works, not ours. Many also think God's demands can produce good works on their own. But God's demands, without the promises of Christ, can only reveal sin and bring death (John 15:1-17; Romans 3-6, 12:1-2; Galatians 3; Ephesians 4:1-3).
• The second theme that Lutherans stress is that God's word contains two distinct messages that accomplish different things and these messages should never be confused. The messages are as different as night and day. On the one hand, God's word contains demands and threats. This message diagnoses our situation and terrifies us. On the other hand, God's word speaks of gifts and promises. This message cures and comforts. Thus God's word should not be treated as an homogenized all-purpose message. We need to use the message that is appropriate for the situation. If we do not, terrified sinners will not be comforted by the Gospel and presumptuous sinners will not be alarmed by the Law (Luke 10:26-28, 36-37; Galatians 3:12; Philippians 3:3-9; Titus 3:4-7).
• The Law's demands speak of our works, what we are to do and avoid. When a person takes to heart these demands, they trouble the conscience and produce fear and doubt. They trouble us because they reveal that we have not done what God expects and we thus deserve His just punishment. If this message does not trouble us, then something is wrong with us. In this situation, the Law's message is not being heard and we have the false hope that things are not really that bad. In this situation, the Law in all its sternness needs to be proclaimed and any message of comfort and hope is inappropriate (Isaiah 26:10; Jeremiah 6:13-15, 23:16-17; Matthew 3:7-10, 19:16-22, 23:13-36; Luke 7:36-47).
• In contrast to this, the Good News about Christ speaks of what God has done, that is, how God out of sheer mercy sent His Son to rescue and bless us. This Good News comforts the troubled sinner and overcomes our fears and doubts. It produces faith and hope. If the demands and threats of God's Law have alarmed the sinner so that he sees he deserves punishment, then we will do harm if we continue to proclaim Law. The Law will then become a destructive message bringing despair and death. What the troubled sinner needs to hear is the comforting news of the Gospel (Matthew 19:23-26; Luke 7:48-50; Acts 2:36-39, 16:27-33).