What We Believe

The members of St. Matthews would like to share the joy of God’s gift with you.  It came freely to us.  We offer it freely to you.  Come… share in the good news with our family of believers at St. Matthews Evangelical Lutheran Church.  We are a congregation of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELSwww.wels.net).  As a congregation of this synod, we strive to be a family where God is glorified and his saving message is shared with all people. We don’t claim to be the only saving church, but we do strive to preserve and pass on the truth as it’s found in the Bible.  We at St. Matthews believe and teach that…

 1. 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)

2. 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 people, because all sinned.” (Romans 5:12)

3. 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 6:23a)

4. 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)

5. 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 6:23b)

6. 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 word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17)

7. 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)

8. 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)

9. 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)

10.  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)

 If you wish to further explore these and other biblical truths, please contact Pastor Keith Petersen at 320-826-2280 or email him at  [email protected].

And of course you are always welcome to join us for worship or any of our Bible classes.