Core Beliefs
Bethlehem Lutheran Church holds to the Christian faith as taught in Sacred Scripture and set forth in the ancient creeds of Christendom and the confessions of the Lutheran Church included in the Book of Concord (1580). Being Lutheran, we accept and teach the Bible-based teaching of Martin Luther that inspired the Reformation of the Christian Church in the 16th century. The teachings of Luther and the reformers can be summarized in three short phrases:
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 the norm for Christian doctrine.
Based upon these historic Christian principles we confess:
The Bible is the inspired and inerrant Word of God. All doctrine and practice in the Church is founded on God's Word.
There is only one true God—the Holy Trinity (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit), as confessed in the three ecumenical creeds (Apostles, Nicene, & Athanasian). God is the Creator of all things and God sustains all things.
All people are born in bondage to sin, death, and the power of devil. We are truly unable to save ourselves or make ourselves right with God by our own strength or works.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is our Lord and Savior from sin, death, and hell. Jesus is true God and true man who lived a perfect and holy life for us. Christ shed His blood on the cross to atone for all our sins. On Easter morning, He rose from the dead and declared His victory over sin, the grave, and the devil. Jesus did all of this for us.
The Holy Spirit calls us to faith in Jesus Christ. He does this with the Word of God. That same Holy Spirit also delivers Jesus' forgiveness, life, and salvation to us. This is all a free gift from God to us. We receive the gifts of life and salvation through the means God has promised: the Bible, through Baptism, Absolution, and also the Lord’s Supper.
Christ works in us, through His Word and Spirit, so that we trust in God. We also live in sacrificial love toward others in the various Vocations to which God has called us.
Human life begins at conception and does not end on earth until natural death. Marriage is between one man and one woman. Marriage is an expression of love between a man and a woman which reflects the relationship of Christ and His bride, the Church.
We believe Jesus Christ will come again on the Last Day. On that day, He will judge the living and the dead. Eternal life will be granted to all believers in Him.
