God: We believe and teach that the Triune God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit as He has revealed himself though His Word, is the source of all life and knowledge. We believe that He is all powerful, eternal, unchanging and all knowing, but that He also loves people and sent His only Son to live a perfect life in their place and die as the payment for their iniquity. We believe that the Holy Spirit calls people by the Gospel, creates faith in their hearts and gives them the gift of salvation without any merit or goodness on their part.
Knowledge: We believe and teach that there are two kinds of knowledge: natural and revealed knowledge. In the area of human and earthly life God wants and encourages us to use the gift of intelligent reason to discover more and more about his universe and its workings. He is pleased when we learn through other’s experiences building on them to advance understanding.
In the area of spiritual truth we need to take our reason captive to the will of God as he reveals it in his inspired Word, the Bible. We need to accept such spiritual truths as the Trinity, the body and blood in the Lord’s Supper and the power of baptism. We believe not because they are reasonable or provable but because we believe God’s knowledge is above our own. When he has clearly spoken we accept it even when we don’t understand it. In reading and studying the word, we let the Bible interpret the Bible, and give the Holy Spirit credit for being smarter than we are.
Man: We believe and teach that since the fall into sin, mankind is totally blind, dead and an enemy of God. We acknowledge that people are not by nature in the spiritual realm, but on the side of the devil. All, because of their sins, are destined for a just punishment in hell unless they are converted by the Spirit’s working in their hearts. Faith in Jesus alone saves.
The reborn believer is and remains imperfect in this life. Yet, he is also constantly growing, “up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ” (Ephesians 4:15). This is the ability and desire to do good works. Out of a thankful heart the believer wills and does what will bring glory and pleasure to God and will serve the welfare of others.
Law and Gospel: We believe and teach that the two main doctrines of the scripture are law and gospel. We teach the law and use it to convince the conscience of sin so that the good news of the Gospel, the message of salvation through Jesus’ life and death, falls on receptive ears and eager hearts. We acknowledge the third use of the law in the lives of Christians so that it becomes for them not a means to be saved, but a way to show thankfulness to the God who has redeemed them and given them saving faith.
Christian Beliefs: Christian beliefs, as understood in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, are based on God’s Word in the Scriptures, and extend to everything that is done at St. Paul Lutheran Church and School. Christian instruction is not only carried out formally, but is integrated into the study of every subject. Students are immersed in a Christian atmosphere, surrounded by teachers, administrators, pastors, and staff members who strive to have their very presence be a testimony to the Christian faith and our distinctively Lutheran manner of expressing that faith.
The LCMS is a Bible-based church body with definite beliefs on many points of Christian faith. For instance, we affirm the following: the sanctity of human life at conception, the Scriptural teaching that marriage is a sacred union of one man and one woman (Genesis 2:24-25), and that God gave marriage as a picture of the relationship between Christ and His bride the Church. (Ephesians 5:32) The family units thus formed on these principles provide the foundation of civil society.
We also affirm that homosexual unions come under categorical prohibition in the Old and New Testaments. (Leviticus 18:22, 24; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, 1 Timothy 1:9-10) as contrary to the Creator’s design (Romans 1:26-27).
We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female.
These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. (Genesis 1:26-27) Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person. Any effort to violate the creative order of God by attempting to modify or transform human gender is sin.
These positions and beliefs, as well as others, can be found on the LCMS website, along with other statements, papers, and reports on the subject of homosexuality and same-sex unions and “marriage.”
Persons engaged in violations of God’s law, like all sinners, should be called to turn from their sin and seek forgiveness through repentance and faith in Christ, which is freely offered by God’s grace.
We are St. Paul Lutheran Church and School and we will not shy away from any of these teachings. Family members are not required to believe or confess the teachings and beliefs of the LCMS. However, these are our teachings and these beliefs will be taught and reflected within our school.
