What We Believe

What We Believe

St. John’s is a member of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Reading Bible at St John's lutheran Church in Algonquin, IL

The foundation of everything we believe, teach and confess at St. John’s Lutheran Church is the Bible, the 66 canonical books of the Old and New Testaments. We believe these Holy Scriptures are the inspired and inerrant Word of God. By inspired, we mean that every word of the Bible written by the prophets, apostles and evangelists was given to them by God. By inerrant, we mean that the Bible is entirely free of error, that everything it teaches about the history of the world, the nature of man and our redemption through the Triune God is true.
 

The Lutheran faith is built around three basic Biblical principles – Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide, Sola Gratia.


These principles of Scripture Alone, Faith Alone, and Grace Alone are then articulated in what we call the sixchief parts of the Christian Faith. These six parts provide a summary of what we believe.
 

They are outlined in Martin Luther's Small Catechism and they provide a clear explanation of the most important teachings found in the Bible. If you would like to have a copy of the Catechism, give us a call in the church office or reach out via email. We would love to give you one.

The Ten Commandments
The Apostles’ Creed
The Lord’s Prayer
Holy Baptism
The Sacrament of the Altar
Confession and The Office of The Keys

For a more extensive treatment of "What Lutherans Believe"

The complete collection of our confessions can be found in the Book of Concord of 1580