We are a Lutheran church with a conservative view of Scripture. Conservative Lutheran doctrine is Bible-based and Christ-centered. It is what the reformer Martin Luther described as a theology of the cross.

…the entire Bible is the inspired Word of God, without error. (Yes, even the talking snake thing.)

…in the Triune God—God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Savior; and the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, working faith in the hearts of people through the Gospel. (One God. Three persons. Try to understand it and it will break your brain.)

… sin is living out of relationship with God, not living according to God’s will, and thus transgressing His holy will in thought, word, and deed. Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, were created by God pure and holy. They went against God’s will and brought sin into the world. Since that time, all people have been conceived and born in sin. (Spoiler alert: Jesus fixes all this.)

…God in His grace gave His only Son, Jesus Christ, true God and true man, to redeem the whole world through His substitutionary life and death on the cross.

…people cannot save themselves by their good works or restore themselves to a right relationship with God. God declares a person just—or righteous—and forgiven, not because of human effort, but because the justification won by Jesus is applied to those who repent of their sins and believe in Jesus as Savior. (Told you it would get better.)

…Jesus paid the penalty for the sins of all mankind (not merely the elect) once for all time. He conquered sin, death, hell and the power of the devil, and rose victoriously from the dead to sit at the right hand of God the Father, where He intercedes on our behalf. (You can see why we worship this guy.)

…the Holy Spirit works faith in the hearts of people to believe that Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection secures forgiveness of sins and life eternal. Faith in Jesus is a gift of God, given by the power of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2:8); thus, all credit and glory for having a saving faith belongs to God alone. (Sorry. No co-stars in this movie.)

…although salvation is a work of God alone, the scriptures teach that believers can deliberately abandon their faith and reject God’s forgiveness. This is why numerous Scriptures encourage Christians to persevere in their faith (Hebrews 10:23) and why we are encouraged to rescue those who have wandered away from the faith (James 5:19).

…Jesus will come again, to judge all the living and the dead, and will give eternal life to all believers and eternal punishment to all who have died in their sins. Until that day, Christians are to worship God, serve Him faithfully through communion with His Church, live godly and righteous lives in the power of Christ’s forgiveness, and strive to carry out the Lord’s command to make known His love and forgiveness to the whole world. (Jesus is coming back. Get busy.)

… Christians are to join with other believers in churches that correctly teach and administer God’s Word, Holy Baptism and Holy Communion—God’s means of grace. By these means, the Holy Spirit calls people to faith in Jesus’ perfect life and atoning death.

…that in order to correctly interpret the Bible correctly, we must distinguish between the Law and Gospel. The Law shows us our sin and the wrath of God. The Gospel shows us the love of God and the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ. Lutheran preaching and worship are always centered in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. (A game changer.)

Much of this theology is covered in Luther’s Small Catechism. You can find a less condensed summary of historic Lutheran Theology in the Augsburg Confession. And if you really want to go nuts you can read the whole Book of Concord. That may take a while. So, pack a lunch.