Skip to Content Skip to Navigation
bethlehem lutheran church background

Our Beliefs

We believe in one true God who has made himself known as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We believe that God loves all people even though none of us deserve his love.

We believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, sent to make things right between God and us. Jesus suffered the punishment for the sins of all people. He died for everyone and also broke the power of death by becoming alive again.

We believe God's forgiveness is a free gift. There is no need to earn God's forgiveness or pay for it. It is ours when we believe in Jesus as our Saviour. God offers us his forgiveness in the good news about Jesus, and in Baptism and the Lord’s Supper (or Holy Communion).

We believe what the Bible says. We accept the Bible as the authority that decides what we are to believe and how we should live. We believe that the good news of Jesus is the key to the whole Bible.

Please visit the following websites for more detailed information on the Christian faith and the Lutheran confessions:

  • More about the distinctive teachings and confessions of the Lutheran Church can be found in the Book of Concord, published in 1580. 
  • Luther's Small Catechism, a part of the Confessions, is a simple summary of the Christian faith and is used throughout the world.  
  • Together with the church of all ages, Lutherans also confess the major ecumenical creeds—the Apostles Creed, the Nicene Creed and the Athanasian Creed.
  • Project Wittenberg contains writings by and about Martin Luther and Lutherans. Here you will find all kinds of texts from short quotations to commentaries, hymns, statements of faith, theological treatises and biographies. 
  • Doctrinal Statements and Theological Opinions of the Lutheran Church of Australia is a collection of documents published to provide members of the Lutheran Church of Australia with access to significant theological statements of the church. 

 

The Luther Rose

The Luther Rose - a traditional symbol used by Lutherans