The Means of Grace
The Holy Spirit works faith in the hearts of sinners and grants forgiveness, life, and salvation through certain means. We call these the means of grace. The means of grace are the word of God and the holy sacraments.
Holy baptism is a sacrament through which the Holy Spirit washes a lost sinner and renews him as a holy child of God. Through baptism, the Spirit forgives sin and grants the gift of saving faith.
The Lord’s Supper is a sacrament through which Jesus Christ gives to his people his true body and his true blood under bread and wine to eat and drink. Through the Supper, the Holy Spirit conveys once again the forgiveness of sins. Through the Supper, the Spirit feeds and strengthens saving faith.
The Church
The holy Christian Church consists of all people in all times and places who truly believe in Jesus Christ as...
God
The only true God reveals himself in Scripture as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God is one...
The Word of God
God reveals himself to mankind through his written word, the Holy Scriptures. The primary purpose of the Scriptures is to...
The Creation
Through his powerful Word, God created all things in six days, as recorded in the first two chapters of Genesis....
The Fall
Tempted by the devil, Adam and Eve fell into sin. They lost for themselves and for all their descendants the...
The Person of Christ
God the Father sent his only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to redeem mankind. True God from eternity, Jesus took on human...
The Work of Christ — Justification
Unlike us, however, Jesus was conceived and born without sin. Unlike our father Adam and us, Jesus resisted perfectly every...
Conversion
Only God is able to work in the heart of a lost sinner the conversion from unbelief into faith. The...
Prayer
Prayer is good work. Through prayer, a believer enjoys the privilege of bringing his thanks, praise, and concerns to God,...
Good Works
After a person has received the gift of faith through the work of the Holy Spirit, he begins to perform...