What We Believe

STATEMENT OF BELIEF

Good Shepherd IS A CHRISTIAN CHURCH. We believe and teach the three historic statements of the Christian faith – the Apostle’s, Nicene, and Athanasian creeds, which clarify that God is Triune: three equal yet distinct persons that are one deity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe and teach that Jesus Christ is God the Son from all eternity who took on human nature in his birth at Bethlehem, and that human beings are saved solely by faith in him and his perfect life and atoning death for sin.

Good Shepherd IS A LUTHERAN CHURCH. We emphasize the three great truths of the Reformation. . .   

  • BY GRACE ALONE. We are forgiven and saved solely as a result of God’s undeserved love, for the sake of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection for us. There is nothing human beings can or must do to contribute to their salvation.
  • THROUGH FAITH ALONE. All that Jesus did to restore us to a right relationship with God is ours personally through faith in Jesus. The Holy Spirit creates and confirms in us this faith or trust in Jesus solely through the Gospel, in Scripture and in the Sacraments.
  • ON THE BASIS OF SCRIPTURE ALONE. Christian truth and life are established solely by the 66 books of the Bible, God’s word-for-word revelation, inspired by the Holy Spirit and without error.

Good Shepherd IS AN EVANGELICAL CHURCH. That word “evangelical” means that we are all about sharing the Gospel – the “good news” that God’s love, forgiveness, and everlasting life are his free gift to sinners for the sake of Jesus Christ. The Gospel shapes our message, our mission, and the character of our life together in Christ’s Church.

Good Shepherd IS A CONFESSIONAL CHURCH. Because they are a correct presentation of God’s Word, we consistently and without compromise teach the doctrines set forth in the catechism and confessions of the Lutheran Church – the Book of Concord.

What We Believe

Jesus Christ, out of love and pure grace, gave his life for you. God cares about you. God wants to be involved in your life!

Good Shepherd belongs to the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS). As part of the WELS, we teach the Beliefs, Doctrines and Creeds based on the inspired Holy Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions.

We don’t claim to be the only saving church, but we do strive to preserve and pass on the truth as it is found in the Bible. We at Good Shepherd believe and teach that…

  • The Bible is the inspired Word of God, with no mistakes and no errors, his unchanging message to all people of all times.  Men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”(2 Peter 1:21)
  • God created people holy and without sin, but by their own choice they disobeyed God and brought sin upon the whole human race. Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned. (Romans 5:12)
  • The final result of sin is not only the end of our earthly life, but eternal death and separation from God in the agony of hell. The wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23)
  • The main and central message of the Bible is the gospel – the good news that God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish, but has eternal life. (John 3:16)
  • Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life in the place of every human being, and Jesus suffered the punishment of hell for the whole human race when he died on the cross. The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
  • God the Holy Spirit creates and strengthens saving faith in Jesus Christ through the message about him in the Bible, in Baptism, and in the Lord’s Supper. Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the words of Christ. (Romans 10:17)
  • Christians do good works, not in order to earn a place in heaven, but out of love and thanks to God who has already given them eternal life as a free gift through Jesus. I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free. (Psalm 119:32)
  • Christians will want to gather together regularly around the Word of God for the strengthening of their own trust in Jesus and for encouraging each other in the faith. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the (final) Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:25)
  • Christians want to carry out the Lord’s great commission to spread the good news about Jesus to others. Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.(Mark 16:15)
  • When the Lord returns in judgment on the last day, he will raise all the dead and give the full glory of everlasting life in heaven to all who trusted in him as Savior. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.(Colossians 3:4)

For a more detailed explanation on what Good Shepherd and the WELS believe, check out This We Believe.

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