Mission

Proclaiming and teaching the timeless faith and foundational truth of our Holy God to edify and strengthen the believer.

Statement of Faith

With the historic church, Our Timeless Faith adheres to and affirms the ancient statements of faith, the Apostle’s Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Athanasian Creed and the Lutheran Confessions, including the Unaltered Augsburg Confession.

The Trinity:

Within the Godhead there is a perfect unity of three distinct, fully divine persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These three persons are one true God, the same in substance, co-eternal and co-equal in power, majesty and dignity.

God the Father:

Eternal, infinite, and almighty God is unchanging in His being, reflected perfectly in His wisdom, holiness, power, judgement, justice, love, goodness and truth. A Spirit, He is fully omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient.

Jesus Christ:

True God, the only begotten son of the Father, He was incarnate by the Holy Spirt and of the Virgin Mary and made true man. These two natures are inseparable, united in one divine person, without any confusion, mixture or division, each nature holding its own attributes.  Blameless he lived the sinless life according to the Law, and was crucified as the perfect sacrifice, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. On the third day he rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven, seated now at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. Our Advocate, he is the only Mediator between us and God.

The Holy Spirit:

Of one substance with the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son and, together with them, is worshiped and glorified. It is through the Word and Sacraments that the Spirit calls sinners to repentance, creates saving faith, and regenerates the believer. He dwells within the faithful, sanctifying them daily, bearing fruit in their lives, and conforming them to Christ. He strengthens, comforts, instructs, and equips the Church through the means of grace.

The Divine Scriptures:

Divinely inspired and preserved through the generations, the Scriptures, in their entirety, both Old and New Testament, are the inerrant and infallible Word of God, carrying with it the full weight of God’s authority, and revealing His plan of salvation. The Scriptures are to believed in everything that it teaches, and the believer is obliged to obey in all that it requires, resting in its promises.

Mankind:

God created man, male and female, in His own image, with perfect righteousness and holiness. But through Adam’s fall, all his descendants are born under sin and are alienated from God, spiritually dead, and incapable of turning to Him by their own power. We are by nature sinful and unclean, deserving only temporal and eternal punishment. Apart from God’s grace in Christ, there is no salvation.

The Law:

The moral law, as it is reflected in the Scriptures, is a reflection of the unchanging and unchangeable character of God to which there is no abrogation, permanently binding all people through all time.

Law and Gospel:

Scriptures are rightly divided into two principal topics: Law and Gospel. The Law reflects the perfect righteousness of God, while the Gospel concerns Christ either in the promise of his coming or in his incarnation. The Law warns, informs, convicts and condemns mankind, pointing to humanities need for Christ, the perfect sacrifice for the remission of sins, that one may be justified before God, and the Gospel perfectly fulfills the law that the believer may have eternal life. The Law cannot deny the Gospel, nor can the Gospel deny the Law.

Baptism:

Holy Baptism is not simply some symbolic act. It is a divine work of God, instituted by Christ and commanded for all nations. Through water and the Word, Baptism delivers exactly what it promises: the forgiveness of sins, rescue from death and the devil, and the gift of eternal life. In Baptism, we are united with Christ in His death and resurrection, clothed with His righteousness, and born again of water and the Spirit. This washing of regeneration is not dependent on our work or understanding, but on the sure promise of God, and remains the foundation of the Christian life.

The Lord’s Supper:

Also called the Eucharist or the Sacrament of the Altar, it is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, given and shed for us in, with and under the bread and wine, instituted by our Savior on the night in which He was betrayed for Christians to eat and to drink. In this holy meal, Christ Himself is truly present, offering the forgiveness of sins, strengthening of faith, and communion with all the saints. It is not remembrance or symbol, but, rather, a means of grace by which Christ delivers to us the benefits of His cross. All who receive it in true faith receive Christ and His gifts; those who receive it unworthily do so to their harm.

Holy Absolution:

Christ has given to His Church the Office of the Keys. This is the authority to forgive the sins of the penitent and to retain the sins of the impenitent, as He Himself declares. In Holy Absolution, the pastor, as a called servant of Christ and by His command, speaks God’s forgiveness directly and personally declaring the forgiveness of all sins. This is not and should not be treated as the word of man, but the very voice of Christ for the comfort and assurance of the believer. Where there is confession and faith, there is full forgiveness and peace with God.

Atonement:

There are none who are righteous, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Because of this there must be an atonement that is made that man might be reconciled to God. Christ Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, incarnate of the Holy Spirit by the Virgin Mary, made that atonement, perfect and complete, through His sacrificial, substitutionary death on the Cross. It is his righteousness alone that is imputed to believers, providing for them who truly repent of their sins and trust in him alone full redemption that they may be called the children of God.

The Christian Life:

Justified by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, the believer is renewed by the Holy Spirit and begins a life of sanctification. This new life is marked not by perfection but by daily repentance and trust in God’s mercy. Faith bears fruit in love, and the Christian is called to serve his neighbor, care for the poor, uphold justice, resist evil, and proclaim the Gospel, all by the strength and guidance of the Spirit working through Word and Sacrament.

Creation:

By and through the power of His Word, God created the heavens and the earth, and all that is in them out of nothing, and all of it testifies to His glory. Sovereign over all of his creation, He preserves and governs it all by His providential hand.

Christ’s Return:

According to his promises and the promises of Scripture, Christ Jesus will return again in glory to judge the living and the dead. This advent of the Lord will occur at the appointed time known only by God at the end of the ages, and is the blessed hope of all believers.

The Hidden Church:

The hidden Church consists of all true believers in Christ from every time and place. It is those justified by grace through faith alone. It is known only to God, for He alone sees the heart. Though hidden to human eyes, this Church is real, alive, and united in Christ. Yet we affirm that this invisible Church is not apart from, but within, the assembly of the faithful where the Gospel is rightly preached and the Sacraments rightly administered.

The Visible Church:

The visible Church is the gathering of believers around the Word and Sacraments. Instituted by Christ and made manifest at Pentecost, it is the place where faith is nurtured, sins are forgiven, and the saints are built up in love. The Church is recognized wherever the pure Gospel is preached, the Sacraments are rightly administered, and the Office of the Keys is faithfully exercised. Every believer, as a member of Christ’s body, is called to love, support, and remain steadfast in the fellowship of the Church.

The Place of Tradition:

Tradition, when properly understood and prioritized, strengthens the faith and provides a clear defense of proper scriptural teaching. Yet, it is never to be accepted blindly, and must be perpetually examined according to the light of Scripture to ensure that it is harmoniously in accord with the teaching of God’s Word. Tradition can never be elevated to the same level as the Scriptures and must always be normed by them.