John 3:16 has been called the gospel in a nutshell—and for good reason. It summarize the main truths for God’s glory and our rescue from hell. God loved us this way: He sent his Son to die for all. Believe it. Receive God’s gift of eternal life.
Why use any further statements of belief?
- To clarify key Bible truths
- To defend the truth against lies
We hold to three main historic creeds:
- the Apostles’ Creed
- the Nicene Creed
- the Athanasian Creed.
In the 16th century, Martin Luther and other reformers addressed the false teachings and practices of the Roman Catholic Church. Luther came to see that sinners are saved by the grace of God as a result of Jesus Christ’s perfect life and perfect death on the cross—not through any merit or effort of their own. Luther and others authored the six Lutheran confessions—to which we as WELS Lutherans still subscribe today because we believe they are a correct explanation of biblical truth.
In modern times, leaders within our own synod found it necessary to clarify the differences between us and other church bodies, particularly those that also call themselves Lutheran. We’re confident you’ll find our statement “This We Believe” helpful in understanding those differences.
