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1.
The entire Bible,
which points to Jesus as the Savior, is the
inspired and errorless Word of God. It is
God’s message of love and hope for all people.
2.
There is only one
true God, who exists in three persons: Father,
Son and Holy Spirit.
3.
God is the
Creator of everything that exists.
4.
Adam and Eve, our
first parents, were originally created by God,
pure and holy. They lived according to
God’s will, doing what was pleasing to Him.
5.
Adam and Eve, the
man and woman God created in the beginning, went
against God’s will and brought sin into the
world. Since that time, all people have
been conceived and born into sin.
6.
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.
7.
People cannot
save themselves by their good works or restore
themselves to a right relationship with God.
8.
God sent His Son,
Jesus Christ, into the world. He is both
true God and true man. He lived to fulfill
God’s law for us, died on the cross to pay the
penalty our sins deserved and rose from the dead
so that we might have eternal life. He
ascended into heaven, where He now sits at the
right hand of the Father to intercede for us.
9.
Because of Jesus’
death on the cross, God declares a person just
or righteous and forgiven. This happens
not because of human effort, but because the
justification won by Jesus is applied to the one
who believes in Jesus as Savior.
10.
Faith in Jesus is
a gift from God, given by the power of the Holy
Spirit; thus all the glory belongs to God.
11.
The means of
grace are the Word, Holy Baptism and Holy
Communion. By these means, the merits of
Jesus’ perfect life and atoning death are
personally conveyed to all who believe in Jesus
as their Savior.
12.
Jesus will come
again to take all believers to Himself. On
the final day, all the dead will be raised.
Those who are still alive will be bodily
transformed. After this, the final
judgment will take place. Unbelievers will
go into eternal damnation, and believers into
eternal life.
13.
The true
Christian church is made up of all believers of
all times who believe in the Triune God and in
Jesus Christ as their only Savior.
14.
God wants
Christians to join with other believers in
churches which correctly teach God’s Word and
administer Holy Baptism and Holy Communion
according to the teachings of Scripture.
15.
Christians are
called to tell others that the only way to
salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ, and to
show their faith by deeds of love towards
others.
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