We believe, teach, and confess that the Holy Scriptures differ from all other books in the world in that they are the Word of God. They are the inspired and inerrant Word of God, and are, in all their parts and words, the infallible truth. They are given by God to the Christian Church for the foundation of faith, from which all doctrines proclaimed and taught in the Christian Church must be taken. Therefore, they are the sole rule and norm by which all teachers and doctrines must be examined and judged.
Of God
We believe, teach, and confess the Holy Trinity; that is, we teach that the one true God is the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, three distinct persons, but of one and the same divine essence, equal in power, equal in eternity, equal in majesty, because each person possesses the one divine essence entire. Therefore, we reject and condemn all teachings contrary to this, and hold that all who deny the doctrine of the Holy Trinity are outside the pale of the Christian Church
Of Jesus Christ
We believe, teach, and confess that in the fullness of time the eternal Son of God was made man by assuming, from the Virgin Mary through the operation of the Holy Spirit, a human nature like unto ours, yet without sin, and receiving it unto His divine person. Jesus Christ is therefore "true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary," true God and true man in one undivided and indivisible person. And He, and He alone, is the Mediator between God and men, both fulfilling the divine Law and suffering and dying in the place of mankind.
Of Faith in Christ
We believe, teach, and confess that faith in Christ is the only way for a person, young and old, to obtain personal reconciliation with God. This faith in Christ, through which a person obtains the forgiveness of sins, excludes all works of the law. It is faith in the Gospel, that is, in the forgiveness of sins, which was fully earned for us by Christ and is offered by the Gospel. This faith justifies because it lays hold of the grace offered, the forgiveness of sins. Faith in Christ is the only way to obtain salvation. Scripture teaches that God has already declared the whole world to be righteous in Christ, and therefore, without the works of the Law, by grace, for Christ's sake, God justifies, that is, accounts as righteous, all those who believe, accept, and rely on, the fact that for Christ's sake their sins are forgiven.
Of the Means of Grace
We believe, teach, and confess that God offers and communicates to people, young and old, the spiritual blessings purchased by Christ, that is to say, the forgiveness of sins and the treasures and gifts that come with this forgiveness, only through the external means of grace ordained by Him. These Means of Grace are the Word of the Gospel and the Sacraments of Holy Baptism and of the Lord's Supper. Baptism, which is for all people of all ages, is applied for the remission of sins and is therefore a washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. The Lord's Supper is the body and blood of Christ, with the bread and wine, which communicates and seals the forgiveness of sins to the individual who worthily partakes, as the words of Jesus declare.
Of the Symbols of the Lutheran Church
We accept as our confession all the symbols contained in the Book of Concord of the year 1580. — The symbols of the Lutheran Church are not a rule of faith beyond, and supplementary to, Scripture, but a confession of the doctrines of Scripture over against those who deny these doctrines. All doctrines of the Symbols are based on clear statements of Scripture.