FAITH STATEMENT
What we believe at Grace Lutheran Church and School is not defined in a vacuum. Our convictions emerge from a shared history and understanding as part of the worldwide Church of Jesus Christ. It has been the practice of the Church from time to time to write down our beliefs, to record our creed--what we believe the message of the Gospel tells us. Each creed of the Church confesses a particular set of beliefs that is perceived as central and essential to the message and mission of Jesus Christ.
As part of the global Church of Jesus Christ, we stand in unity with those churches that affirm the faith expressed in the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds. As part of the Lutheran Church, we also share the confessional expressions of the Book of Concord. As the community of Grace, we declare the following convictions:
· The Bible is the Word of God, inspired by God but entrusted to the writing and style of human authors. It is fully trustworthy as the ultimate guide to our faith and practice.
· Jesus, fully divine as the Son of God, and fully human as the Son of Man, is the only full and complete revelation of God and is therefore the only Savior of the world and the Lord of all creation.
· The life and death of Jesus on the cross is the initiative and act of God:
- to heal our brokenness
- to forgive our sin
- to reconcile us to God and to each other.
We believe that humanity is broken in that we are predisposed to worshipping ourselves. We believe that sin reflects the acting out of our brokenness wherein we make God less than God is, and others less than they are.
· The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead:
- as the proof of who we profess Jesus to be
- as the redemption of the problem of evil
- as the historical act that defeats the power of death
- as the assurance of God’s promise of eternal life.
· Salvation as God’s gift is grasped through faith by grace. We contribute nothing to
our salvation. Even faith is first a gift of God to which we are called to respond. Before we believe in God, God believes in us, in and through Jesus Christ.
· New life is offered by the Holy Spirit who brings us into spiritual rebirth and into the community of believers and followers of Christ. The Church empowers us to live and die as Jesus did, reaching out to the poor, sick, marginalized, alienated and oppressed.
· The return of Jesus Christ is imminent. He will return to consummate the work and witness of his
life, death and resurrection, to complete the recreation of all things and to thereby
fulfill the reign of God.
· We are called to witness this Gospel in faith and practice, in word and deed, to share this story so that others may receive and embody the forgiveness, healing, freedom and purpose borne of God’s salvation.
Additionally, while there are many dimensions to the practical outworking of our faith in Christ, we wrestle with the following cultural and ethical issues accordingly:
· We teach that the possibility for a full and healthy sexual relationship exists only within the confines the covenant of marriage -- one man and one woman. We believe that sexual brokenness is but one of many manifestations of the tragic nature of our humanity. We do not affirm a hierarchy of brokenness and we affirm God’s forgiveness of all sins in Christ.
· We teach the sanctity, dignity and defense of all human life, no matter what stage of personhood, gender, sexual orientation, religious faith, economic class or ethnicity is presented. We believe that we have a responsibility to be good and proactive stewards of the peace, wellbeing, shelter, nurture and care of all persons. We acknowledge and share God’s heart for the orphan, the widow, the prisoner, the refugee and the marginalized.
· We teach that our stewardship role encompasses all creation as well as all human life. We believe that we have a responsibility to respect, to cultivate, to recycle and to ensure the continuance of the natural resources and environments entrusted to our care.