Reformation Theology and Practice

as Understood by

The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod

[This page is made up almost entirely of links to the main LCMS website. It makes no difference what your background is, studying these documents will be a valuable resource to you as you seek to better know the Savior and understand the truth of God.]

In grateful response to God's grace and empowered by the Holy Spirit through Word and Sacraments, the mission of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod is vigorously to make known the love of Christ by word and deed within our churches, communities, and the world.

With the universal Christian Church, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod teaches and responds to the love of the Triune God: the Father, creator of all that exists; Jesus Christ, the Son, who became human to suffer and die for the sins of all human beings and to rise to life again in the ultimate victory over death and Satan; and the Holy Spirit, who creates faith through God's Word and Sacraments. The three persons of the Trinity are coequal and coeternal, one God.

Being "Lutheran," our congregations accept and teach Bible-based teachings of Martin Luther that inspired the reformation of the Christian Church in the 16th century.

The teaching of Luther and the reformers can be summarized in three short phrases: Grace alone, Scripture alone, Faith alone.

• Grace alone God loves the people of the world, even though they are sinful, rebel against Him and do not deserve His love. He sent Jesus, His Son, to love the unlovable and save the ungodly.
• Faith alone By His suffering and death as the substitute for all people of all time, Jesus purchased and won forgiveness and eternal life for them. Those who hear this Good News and believe it have the eternal life that it offers. God creates faith in Christ and gives people forgiveness through Him.
• Scripture alone The Bible is God's inerrant and infallible Word, in which He reveals His Law and His Gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ. It is the sole rule and norm for Christian doctrine.

The word "Synod" in The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod comes from the Greek words that mean "walking together." It has rich meaning in our church body, because the congregations voluntarily choose to belong to the Synod. Diverse in their service, these congregations hold to a shared confession of Jesus Christ as taught in Holy Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions.

The congregations of the Synod are "confessional." They hold to the Lutheran Confessions as the correct interpretation and presentation of Biblical doctrine. Contained in The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, these statements of belief were put into writing by church leaders during the 16th century. (The simplest of these is Luther's Small Catechism. The Augsburg Confession gives more detail on what Lutherans believe. Links to the full text of all the Lutheran Confessions are listed below.

Adapted from A Week in the Life of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod, copyright 1996, Concordia Publishing House.

For more information...

• An Introduction to The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod--A historical background and general overview of LCMS beliefs.
• Who is Jesus?--This document addresses the question by taking a look at the Apostles' Creed.
• The Way of Life--A self-guided Bible study that further explores the question, "who is Jesus?".

• Luther's Large Catechism Exposition on the first commandment: "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me."

• Five-fold Vision Statement

• The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod: A Brief History

• The Lutheran Witness Official LCMS monthly publication.

The Lutheran Confessions

The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod accepts the Scriptures as the inspired and inerrant Word of God, and subscribes unconditionally to all the symbolical books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church as a true and unadulterated statement and exposition of the Word of God. We accept the Confessions because they are drawn from the Word of God and on that account regard their doctrinal content as a true and binding exposition of Holy Scripture and as authoritative for all pastors, congregations and other rostered church workers of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.

• The Three Ecumenical Creeds

• The Augsburg Confession

• The Defense of the Augsburg Confession

• The Large Catechism

• The Small Catechism

• The Smalcald Articles

• Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope

• The Epitome of the Formula of Concord

• The Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord

Entire Book of Concord in PDF Format (2MB file)

These texts are in the public domain and may be copied and distributed freely. The source of these translations is

Triglot Concordia: The Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921).

LCMS Doctrine

Synodically Adopted Statements

A Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the Missouri Synod [Adopted 1932]

• Of the Holy Scriptures

• Of God

• Of Creation

• Of Man and Sin

• Of Redemption

• Of Faith in Christ

• Of Conversion

• Of Justification

• Of Good Works

• Of The Means of Grace

• Of the Church

• Of the Public Ministry

• Of Church and State

• Of the Election of Grace

• Of Sunday

• Of the Millennium

• Of the Antichrist

• Of Open Questions

• Of the Symbols of the Lutheran Church

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A Statement of Scriptural and Confessional Principles [Adopted 1973]

Commission on Theology and Church Relations (CTCR)

In order to provide leadership in dealing with the Synod's needs and opportunities in the areas of theology and church relations, the Synod established the Commission on Theology and Church Relations in 1962. Since that time, the Commission has provided study documents and statements on a number of significant theological issues and has been the Synod's primary agency for carrying out its ecumenical responsibilities toward other Christians.

Office of the President

The LCMS President's site contains links to many statements, commentaries, and informational treatises issued by the Office of the President. The subjects of the information on this page range from biblical to institutional in nature.

• President's Commission on Women--The President's Commission on Women is appointed by the LCMS president to look at issues in society and culture that impact the lives of women in the LCMS. One role of the PCW is to increase awareness of service opportunities and available resources that strengthen, comfort and share God's Word with women. The Commission also encourages and equips women to recognize and share the joy of their salvation.

"What About..." Pamphlets

A series of 29 pamphlets, written by former Synod President A.L. Barry, that address doctrinal topics, moral issues and concerns in the church to help Christians grow in their understanding of these important questions. These documents are made available in format. You will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view them.

Introduction The Gospel The Bible The Small Catechism The Ten Commandments The Apostles' Creed The Lord's Prayer Holy Baptism Confession and Absolution The Sacrament of the Altar Being a Lutheran Lutheran Worship The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod Telling the Good News about Jesus Christian Families

Angels Death and Dying Pastors The New Millennium Christian Stewardship Fellowship in the Lord's Supper The Difference between the ELCA and the LCMS The Ordination of Women to the Pastoral Office Homosexuality Abortion Living Together Without Marriage Creation and Evolution The Jehovah's Witnesses Islam Mormonism All 29 "What About..." Documents (649kb)