With the universal Christian Church, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod teaches and responds to the love of the Triune God: the Father, creator of all that exists; Jesus Christ, the Son, who became human to suffer and die for the sins of all human beings and to rise to life again in the ultimate victory over death and Satan; and the Holy Spirit, who creates faith through God’s Word and Sacraments. The three persons of the Trinity are coequal and coeternal, one God.
Being “Lutheran,” our congregations accept and teach Bible-based teachings of Martin Luther that inspired the reformation of the Christian Church in the 16th century. The teaching of Luther and the reformers can be summarized in three short phrases: Grace alone, Scripture alone, Faith alone.
Grace alone
God loves the people of the world, even though they are sinful, rebel against Him and do not deserve His love. He sent Jesus, His Son, to love the unlovable and save the ungodly.
Faith alone
By His suffering and death as the substitute for all people of all time, Jesus purchased and won forgiveness and eternal life for them. Those who hear this Good News and believe it have the eternal life that it offers. God creates faith in Christ and gives people forgiveness through Him.
Scripture alone
The Bible is God’s inerrant and infallible Word, in which He reveals His Law and His Gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ. It is the sole rule and norm for Christian doctrine.
The word “Synod” in The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod comes from the Greek words that mean “walking together.” It has rich meaning in our church body,because the congregations voluntarily choose to belong to the Synod. Diverse in their service, these congregations hold to a shared confession of Jesus Christ as taught in Holy Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions.
The congregations of the Synod are “confessional.” They hold to the Lutheran Confessions as the correct interpretation and presentation of Biblical doctrine. Contained in The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, these statements of belief were put into writing by church leaders during the 16th century. (The simplest of these is Luther’s Small Catechism. The Augsburg Confession gives more detail on what Lutherans believe.
Links to the full text of all the Lutheran Confessions are listed below.
Adapted from A Week in the Life of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, copyright 1996, Concordia Publishing House.
The Lutheran Confessions
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod accepts the Scriptures as the inspired and inerrant Word of God,and subscribes unconditionally to all the symbolical books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church as a true and unadulterated statement and exposition of the Word of God. We accept the Confessions because they are drawn from the Word of God and on that account regard their doctrinal content as a true and binding exposition of Holy Scripture and as authoritative for all pastors, congregations and other rostered church workers of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.
Please visit:
An Introduction to the Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod PDF File Download
The LCMS Confessions
LCMS Doctrine – Synodically Adopted Statements
A Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the Missouri Synod [Adopted 1932]
Of the Holy Scriptures
Of God
Of Creation
Of Man and Sin
Of Redemption
Of Faith in Christ
Of Conversion
Of Justification
Of Good Works
Of The Means of Grace
Of the Church
Of the Public Ministry
Of Church and State
Of the Election of Grace
Of Sunday
Of the Millennium
Of the Antichrist
Of Open Questions
Of the Symbols of the Lutheran Church
A Statement of Scriptural and Confessional Principles [Adopted 1973]
Christ as Savior and Lord
Law and Gospel
The Mission of the Church
Holy Scripture
Original Sin
Confessional Subscription
Conclusion
What About
A series of 29 pamphlets, written by former Synod President A.L. Barry, that address doctrinal topics, moral issues and concerns in the church to help Christians grow in their understanding of these important questions. These documents are made available in Adobe Acrobat Reader (pdf) format. You will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view them.
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