What We Believe...
At Zion Lutheran Church, we believe above all else that Jesus Christ is our only Savior from sin, and that we are saved by grace alone, through faith in Christ Jesus. Human works, no matter how good, are believed to be the result or fruit of salvation, not its cause.
Our beliefs are biblical. We hold that the Bible is the one true source of Christian teaching (doctrine). The Bible determines what and how we believe, teach, and confess. We believe that the Bible is divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit, and that it is truly the Word of God, and does not lie or contain error.
While the Bible is the source and norm of our doctrine, its teachings are spread throughout its books. By consolidating and clearly proclaiming these doctrines, we are also Confessional. Our Lutheran confessions (i.e., statements of belief) are drawn from Scripture alone. Our confessions teach specific applications of God's Word to many different situations. We believe that these confessions are true expositions of the Word. Our confessions point us to Christ as our Savior and Justification by Grace through faith as the chief doctrine of the Lutheran Church. Our confessions include the three Ecumenical Creeds which include the Apostles, Nicene, and Athanasian, in addition to Luther's Small and Large Catechisms, the Augsburg Confession of 1530, and other documents, which are all contained in the Book of Concord of 1580.
Here in America, Lutheranism is considered to be a denomination, but true Lutheranism is a confession, not a denomination. True Lutherans confess the true faith of the Holy universal (Greek = catholic), and apostolic church that has always existed. These roots mean that Lutherans are Liturgical. We follow an orderly and ancient pattern in our worship. Many of these elements date back thousands of years and are patterned after the early Christian church. On any given Sunday, literally millions of Lutherans around the world may, in their own languages, be singing and praying the very same thing. Our liturgy thus binds together a wide-spread church. The liturgy is not meant to be rote or emotionless, but it is formal and conducted with reverence. It speaks of the mystery and the majesty of God.
Lutherans are also Sacramental. Along with preaching the Word, we practice Confession and Absolution, Baptism, and the Lord's Supper according to their Scriptural institution, believing that by them, the Lord works forgiveness of sins and strengthens our faith. We confess that God uses these means to impart forgiveness of sins, to bring those dead in sin to life in Christ, and to sustain that life until life eternal.
We believe in baptismal regeneration. Holy Baptism is not seen as a symbolic act, nor as something one does to "join" the Church. Instead, we confess that God uses Baptism to join people to his Church. Holy Baptism is the washing of regeneration. We believe that Christ's words when joined with the water, works forgiveness of sins, creates new life, and provides salvation for those who receive His Grace through faith. We baptize infants, since we believe from the words of Scripture that says we are all born into sin and in need of Christ's forgiveness and the new life which He gives in Baptism. We baptize our infants and children as Acts 2 tell us that through Baptism and repentance, we are promised the forgiveness of sins and that we will receive the Holy Spirit. Through Baptism, we are born again unto faith in Christ. Our sins are washed away. We are buried with Christ into His death and raised again with Him to new life, and we receive the Holy Spirit. The primary view of the early church and early church fathers, along with the leaders of the Protestant Reformation such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Huldrich Zingli, all believed in and practiced infant Baptism. Although today, many Protestant churches in America unfortunately argue that Baptism cannot save because faith alone saves. Lutherans know that faith is the receiving hand. Baptism is God's giving hand.
Lutherans highly regard the Lord's Supper, confessing that we do not receive only bread and wine to remember Christ's sacrifice, but that miraculously we receive the true body and blood of Christ as the Scriptures record. We believe the Bible which teaches that through the eating and drinking of His body and blood, that we can receive forgiveness of our sins. We also believe that through partaking of the Lord's Supper, our faith is strengthened, and we are joined ever more closely with our Savior. We are thus taken into closer communion with the Father, who is one with Christ. We are also brought into closer communion with our brothers and sisters in the faith--the body of Christ.
Both because of the unity which the Lord's Supper brings and because of the unity that is called for in partaking of the Supper, we at Zion Lutheran Church practice closed (or close) communion, wherein the pastor examines those who desire to commune before admitting them to the altar. This is for the benefit of the individual, so that one does not eat and drink to his or her harm as recorded in 1 Corinthians 11:27-29. It is also for the benefit of the Church body, so that it does not incorporate into itself those who ignore the true Presence of Christ in the Supper or deny the forgiveness of sins which is Christ's gift in this eating and drinking. (1 Corinthians 10:17-22)
Our beliefs are biblical. We hold that the Bible is the one true source of Christian teaching (doctrine). The Bible determines what and how we believe, teach, and confess. We believe that the Bible is divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit, and that it is truly the Word of God, and does not lie or contain error.
While the Bible is the source and norm of our doctrine, its teachings are spread throughout its books. By consolidating and clearly proclaiming these doctrines, we are also Confessional. Our Lutheran confessions (i.e., statements of belief) are drawn from Scripture alone. Our confessions teach specific applications of God's Word to many different situations. We believe that these confessions are true expositions of the Word. Our confessions point us to Christ as our Savior and Justification by Grace through faith as the chief doctrine of the Lutheran Church. Our confessions include the three Ecumenical Creeds which include the Apostles, Nicene, and Athanasian, in addition to Luther's Small and Large Catechisms, the Augsburg Confession of 1530, and other documents, which are all contained in the Book of Concord of 1580.
Here in America, Lutheranism is considered to be a denomination, but true Lutheranism is a confession, not a denomination. True Lutherans confess the true faith of the Holy universal (Greek = catholic), and apostolic church that has always existed. These roots mean that Lutherans are Liturgical. We follow an orderly and ancient pattern in our worship. Many of these elements date back thousands of years and are patterned after the early Christian church. On any given Sunday, literally millions of Lutherans around the world may, in their own languages, be singing and praying the very same thing. Our liturgy thus binds together a wide-spread church. The liturgy is not meant to be rote or emotionless, but it is formal and conducted with reverence. It speaks of the mystery and the majesty of God.
Lutherans are also Sacramental. Along with preaching the Word, we practice Confession and Absolution, Baptism, and the Lord's Supper according to their Scriptural institution, believing that by them, the Lord works forgiveness of sins and strengthens our faith. We confess that God uses these means to impart forgiveness of sins, to bring those dead in sin to life in Christ, and to sustain that life until life eternal.
We believe in baptismal regeneration. Holy Baptism is not seen as a symbolic act, nor as something one does to "join" the Church. Instead, we confess that God uses Baptism to join people to his Church. Holy Baptism is the washing of regeneration. We believe that Christ's words when joined with the water, works forgiveness of sins, creates new life, and provides salvation for those who receive His Grace through faith. We baptize infants, since we believe from the words of Scripture that says we are all born into sin and in need of Christ's forgiveness and the new life which He gives in Baptism. We baptize our infants and children as Acts 2 tell us that through Baptism and repentance, we are promised the forgiveness of sins and that we will receive the Holy Spirit. Through Baptism, we are born again unto faith in Christ. Our sins are washed away. We are buried with Christ into His death and raised again with Him to new life, and we receive the Holy Spirit. The primary view of the early church and early church fathers, along with the leaders of the Protestant Reformation such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Huldrich Zingli, all believed in and practiced infant Baptism. Although today, many Protestant churches in America unfortunately argue that Baptism cannot save because faith alone saves. Lutherans know that faith is the receiving hand. Baptism is God's giving hand.
Lutherans highly regard the Lord's Supper, confessing that we do not receive only bread and wine to remember Christ's sacrifice, but that miraculously we receive the true body and blood of Christ as the Scriptures record. We believe the Bible which teaches that through the eating and drinking of His body and blood, that we can receive forgiveness of our sins. We also believe that through partaking of the Lord's Supper, our faith is strengthened, and we are joined ever more closely with our Savior. We are thus taken into closer communion with the Father, who is one with Christ. We are also brought into closer communion with our brothers and sisters in the faith--the body of Christ.
Both because of the unity which the Lord's Supper brings and because of the unity that is called for in partaking of the Supper, we at Zion Lutheran Church practice closed (or close) communion, wherein the pastor examines those who desire to commune before admitting them to the altar. This is for the benefit of the individual, so that one does not eat and drink to his or her harm as recorded in 1 Corinthians 11:27-29. It is also for the benefit of the Church body, so that it does not incorporate into itself those who ignore the true Presence of Christ in the Supper or deny the forgiveness of sins which is Christ's gift in this eating and drinking. (1 Corinthians 10:17-22)