{"id":3840,"date":"2024-07-31T10:52:04","date_gmt":"2024-07-31T16:52:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eklutheran.ca\/?page_id=3840"},"modified":"2024-09-13T12:41:33","modified_gmt":"2024-09-13T18:41:33","slug":"what-we-believe","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/eklutheran.ca\/?page_id=3840","title":{"rendered":"What We Believe"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our Values<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

1. Caring for others (Mark 12:30-31<\/a>)<\/strong><\/span>
\n2. Biblical Doctrine (2 Timothy 3:16-17<\/a>)<\/strong><\/span>
\n3. Prayer (James 5:16)<\/a><\/strong><\/span>
\n4. Outreach (Matthew 28:16-20)<\/a><\/strong><\/span>
\n5. Discipleship Culture (Matthew 4:19)<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Our Statement of Faith<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

What is the Bible?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

We believe the Bible is inspired and revealed to us by God and is the <\/em>complete word of God. We believe it is without fault or error in all its <\/em><\/strong>teachings. The Bible is our guideline for our life and is the base of our Christian faith and teachings.<\/strong>
\n<\/em>Ref: 2 Timothy 3:16,17; 2 Peter 1:20<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Who is God?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

We believe there is only one true and living God who is the author of\u00a0<\/em>all creation.\u00a0 He is perfect in his power, knowledge, love, and holiness.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>God eternally exists in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, all\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>of which are one God and one Savior.<\/strong>
\nRef: Matthew 28:19, John 14:10, <\/strong><\/span><\/em>Jude 25, John 15:26<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Who is Jesus?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

We believe Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. He became human\u00a0<\/em>without ceasing to be God, and so we consider him both fully God and\u00a0<\/em>fully human. We believe in his sinless life, his miracles, and his\u00a0<\/em>teachings. Jesus was crucified on the cross and died as the substitute\u00a0<\/em>to pay the penalty for our sin and the sins of the whole world. Three\u00a0<\/em>days later, he physically rose from the dead and ascended into\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>heaven, proving he was indeed who he claimed to be.<\/strong>
\nRef: Romans 1:16, I Cor. 15:1-8, John 14:6, Acts 4:12<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Who is the Holy Spirit?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity and has been sent by\u00a0<\/em>the Father to empower and guide all followers of Christ. By His\u00a0<\/em>powerful work, the Spirit spiritually gives new life to dead sinners\u00a0<\/em>awakening them to repentance and faith. The Holy Spirit lives in every\u00a0<\/em>Christian and gives them spiritual gifts to be effective in carrying out\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>the mission of the Church.<\/strong>
\nRef: John 14:16-17, 16:8, I Corinthians\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/em>2:10-16, John 16:13-14, Ephesians 1:19-2<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Who are we?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

We believe people are created in the image of God, and so human life\u00a0<\/em>is sacred from conception to natural death. God created humanity with\u00a0<\/em>free will and a great purpose. However, we have rejected that purpose\u00a0<\/em>and our world has been broken ever since. Sin separates us from the\u00a0<\/em>life God has designed for us and has brought suffering and death to\u00a0<\/em>our world. As a result, we have tried to answer the great questions of\u00a0<\/em>life and live independently from God, relying on our own strength,\u00a0<\/em>feelings, and achievements to find value and self-worth. This only\u00a0<\/em>adds to our suffering. However, even though we continually move\u00a0<\/em>away from God, God continues to pursue us and knock on our door.
\n<\/em>When someone opens that door and chooses to believe and follow in\u00a0<\/em>the footsteps of Jesus and embrace all that he has done for them,\u00a0<\/em>they receive a new nature, and the Holy Spirit begins the process of\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>healing and transformation within their heart.<\/strong>
\nRef: Genesis 3, Psalm 51:5, John 3:16, 2 Cor. 5:17<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

What is the Gospel?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

We believe the Gospel is the story of what Jesus has done for each of us.\u00a0 <\/em>By his perfect obedience to the Father\u2019s plan, including his death\u00a0<\/em>on the cross, he fulfilled the Law once given to Moses, and his\u00a0<\/em>righteousness can now be credited to us. When we believe the\u00a0<\/em>message of the Gospel, we experience the forgiveness of sins and the <\/em><\/strong>transforming power of the Grace of God.<\/strong>
\nRef: John 3:14-16, John 5:24, Romans 1:16, 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, Galatians 2:21, Ephesians 1:3, 11, Ephesians 2:4-10, 1 John 5:1, 1 John 1:9, John 14:6<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

What is the Church?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

We believe the church is made up of everyone who places their faith\u00a0<\/em>in Jesus Christ. It is not an institution or an organization but a family\u00a0<\/em>called into existence and sustained by Jesus Christ as the\u00a0<\/em>Cornerstone. The Church was created to live and grow as a <\/em>community that makes disciples of Jesus Christ by baptizing and\u00a0<\/em>teaching people to obey the teachings of Jesus. Local churches act as\u00a0<\/em>a great means and outlet towards the visible form of the Kingdom of\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>God here on earth.<\/strong>
\nRef: Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 2:38, Acts 2:42-47,\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/em>Romans 6:3-4, Hebrews 10:24-25, 1 Corinthians 12, 1 Corinthians\u00a0<\/em>11:23-26<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

What is Baptism?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

We believe that baptism is not simply a religious ritual but a sacred gift\u00a0<\/em>that God uses to bring his presence and forgiveness to those who\u00a0<\/em>believe. Since even babies and children are born sinners, we welcome\u00a0<\/em>Christian parents to bring their \u201clittle ones\u201d to baptism, too. While we\u00a0<\/em>believe that God gives the gift of faith in baptism, we do not teach that\u00a0<\/em>baptism saves a child forever, but that those who are baptized need to\u00a0<\/em>come to a conscious choice for themselves on whether to embrace\u00a0<\/em>the gift of faith or to live life without it. We encourage adults who are <\/em><\/strong>ot baptized to be baptized after they come to faith.<\/strong>
\n<\/em>Ref: <\/em>Matthew 18:1-6 19:14, Romans 6:3-4, Ephesians 4:5, I Peter 3:21, Acts 2:38<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

What about the end times?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

We believe the history of the earth will end with the personal and\u00a0<\/em>bodily return of Jesus Christ. At that time, He will complete God\u2019s plan\u00a0<\/em>to bring justice to the world and reestablish his righteous rule over all\u00a0<\/em>humanity. Here at the EKLP, we emphasize Christ\u2019s return and coming\u00a0<\/em>judgment, but we will never know exactly when or exactly how until <\/em><\/strong>that time comes.<\/strong>
\nRef: Matt. 24:29-31; Revelation 20<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

What are our Traditions?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

We believe that our connection to the historic and early church is\u00a0<\/em>important. We believe that the three ancient symbols, the Apostles\u00a0<\/em>Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed are accurate\u00a0<\/em>descriptions of biblical teaching. We also believe and practice the\u00a0<\/em>teachings found in the unaltered Augsburg Confession, and Martin L<\/em>uther\u2019s Small Catechism. The EKLP encourages people of all beliefs\u00a0<\/em>and backgrounds to investigate and discuss what the Bible teaches.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>Many who are part of our community continue this practice of learning\u00a0<\/em>and searching what the Bible teaches and their understanding of it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>But this is our understanding of the core message of the Christian\u00a0<\/em>Faith.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

What is our Denomination?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The EKLP is a member of the Association of Free Lutheran\u00a0<\/em>Congregations-Canada.\u00a0 A church like ours is independent of outside control, <\/em>but we cooperate with other churches to accomplish what we can\u2019t do\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>ourselves.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em> For more information, and a video that provides an overview of what that looks like, visit the Association of Free Lutheran Congregations website: www.aflc.org<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our Values 1. Caring for others (Mark 12:30-31) 2. Biblical Doctrine (2 Timothy 3:16-17) 3. Prayer (James 5:16) 4. Outreach (Matthew 28:16-20) 5. Discipleship Culture (Matthew 4:19)   Our Statement of Faith What is the Bible? We believe the Bible is inspired and revealed to us by God and is the complete word of God. … [Read more…]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-full-width.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["entry","page","publish","author-sandralusk","post-3840"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eklutheran.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eklutheran.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eklutheran.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eklutheran.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eklutheran.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3840"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/eklutheran.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3840\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3902,"href":"https:\/\/eklutheran.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3840\/revisions\/3902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eklutheran.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}