We believe, teach, and confess…
-There is one God [Deut 6:4; Isa 44:6–8], who is eternal, simple, of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness, the maker and preserver of all things [Neh 9:6]. Yet there are three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, equal in glory and majesty [Matt 3:16–17; 28:19; John 16:13–15].
-Since the fall of Adam [Gen 3:1–19], all human beings are now conceived and born with sin [Rom 5:12; Ps 51:5]; that is, without original righteousness, and instead with an evil desire toward unrighteousness, contrary to God’s Law [Gen 8:21; Rom 3:10–18]. This sinful corruption brings eternal punishment upon all who are not born anew through Baptism and the Holy Spirit [Eph 2:3; Matt 25:46; John 3:5].
-Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God who became man in the womb of the blessed Virgin Mary [John 1:1, 14; Luke 1:30–35], and who suffered crucifixion and death to be a sacrifice for all the sins of mankind [Matt 20:28; 1 Pet 2:24; Isa 53:4–6]. He rose from the dead to triumph over death and hell [Matt 28:5–9; 1 Cor 15:3–4], and He ascended to the right hand of the Father to rule forever over all things [Luke 24:51; Eph 4:10]. This same Jesus Christ will also return to judge the living and the dead [Matt 25:31–32; 2 Tim 4:1].
-Sinners are counted righteous in God’s sight not by their own strength, merits, or works, but freely, by God’s grace, through faith, when they believe that their sins are forgiven on account of Christ’s redeeming sacrifice [Rom 3:23–25; Eph 2:8–9]. God counts this faith for righteousness in His sight [Gen 15:6; Rom 4:23–24].
-So that we may obtain this faith, Jesus Christ instituted the ministry of preaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments [Matt 28:19–20; John 20:21–23]. Through the Word and Sacraments, as through instruments, the Holy Spirit works repentance and faith in those who hear the good news of Christ’s death and resurrection for our salvation [Rom 10:17; Acts 2:38].
-Holy Baptism is nothing we do [Titus 3:5]. In Baptism God washes us not just with plain water, but with water combined with God’s word [Matt 28:19; Eph 5:25–26], in order to give us all the benefits of Christ’s saving death and resurrection [Rom 6:3–4]. It works forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, according to the promises of God [Mark 16:16; 1 Pet 3:21].
-In the Sacrament of the Altar, or the Lord’s Supper, the bread and wine are truly Christ’s body and blood, instituted and given by Christ Himself for Christians to eat and to drink [Matt 26:26-28; Luke 22:19–20], for the strengthening of their faith, the forgiveness of sins, and for life everlasting [Matt 26:28; John 6:54–58].
-One holy Church is to remain forever [Matt 16:18]. The Church is the congregation of Christian believers, united by faith to Christ, in which the Gospel is purely taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered [Eph 2:19–22; John 10:27–28; 1 Cor 10:17]. Within this Church the Holy Spirit daily and richly forgives all our sins and begins to renew us in righteousness and purity [1 John 1:7–9; Gal 5:22–23; Phil 2:13]. Outside the Christian Church there is no salvation [Acts 4:12; 1 Tim 3:15].
-At the end of the world, when Christ returns in glory, the dead will be raised in their bodies and all will be judged according to their deeds [John 5:28–29; 2 Cor 5:10]. Unbelievers will be condemned for their sins to everlasting punishment [Matt 25:41; Mark 16:16], but all believers in Christ, their sins forgiven, will receive eternal life [Matt 25:46; John 3:16], dwelling with Christ in the new heavens and earth [Isa 65:17; 2 Pet 3:13], in righteousness, innocence, and blessedness forever [Is 25:8; 1 John 3:2].
-The prophetic and apostolic Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are God’s word, inspired by the Holy Spirit [2 Tim 3:16; John 14:26], are the only infallible standard or norm by which all teachers and doctrines are to be judged [Prov 30:5–6; Acts 17:1
