The Word of God

At Hope Lutheran Church, we greatly esteem the Bible as being God's own Word. The Divine Service (worship), for example, is steeped in God's Word. From the liturgy to the hymns, from the lessons to the pastor's sermon— it is a feast of God's word for God's people to hear.

Along with the all Lutherans, we believe, teach, and confess that the Word of God alone is what creates faith (Rom. 10:17). God Himself teaches that His Word is "living and active, sharper than a two-edged sword" (Heb. 4:12). We Lutherans believe that the Gospel is the "power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes" (Rom 1:16). In sum, the very heart and soul of Lutheranism is the Biblical truth that the Holy Spirit comes through the Word of God.

Consider these three points about Holy Scripture as contained in the "Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the Missouri Synod (aopted 1932):

  1. We teach that the Holy Scriptures differ from all other books in the world inthat they are the Word of God. They are the Word of God because the holy menof God who wrote the Scriptures wrote only that which the Holy Ghostcommunicated to them by inspiration, 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:21. We teach also that the verbal inspiration of the Scriptures is not a so-called "theological deduction,"but that it is taught by direct statements of the Scriptures, 2 Tim. 3:16; John 10:35;Rom. 3:2; 1 Cor. 2:13. Since the Holy Scriptures are the Word of God, it goeswithout saying that they contain no errors or contradictions, but that they are in alltheir parts and words the infallible truth, also in those parts which treat ofhistorical, geographical, and other secular matters, John 10:35.

  2. We furthermore teach regarding the Holy Scriptures that they are given by Godto the Christian Church for the foundation of faith, Eph. 2:20. Hence the HolyScriptures are the sole source from which all doctrines proclaimed in the ChristianChurch must be taken and therefore, too, the sole rule and norm by which allteachers and doctrines must be examined and judged. With the Confessions of ourChurch we teach also that the "rule of faith" (analogia fidei) according to whichthe Holy Scriptures are to be understood are the clear passages of the Scripturesthemselves which set forth the individual doctrines. (Apology. Trig lot p.441, §60; Mueller, p.284). 'The rule of faith is not the man-made so-called "totality ofScripture" (Ganzes der Schrift").

  3. We reject the doctrine which under the name of science has gained widepopularity in the Church of our day that Holy Scripture is not in all its parts theWord of God, but in part the Word of God and in part the word of man and hencedoes, or at least, might, contain error. We reject this erroneous doctrine as horribleand blasphemous, since it flatly contradicts Christ and His holy apostles, sets upmen as judges over the Word of God, and thus over-throws the foundation of theChristian Church and its faith.

"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins." (Romans 3:23-26)

"The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord, for  in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, 'The righteous shall live by faith' " (Romans 6:23-24)

"Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Romans 10:17)

"I am not ashamed of the Gospel [of Christ], for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16)

"By grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9)

"And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in prayers" (Acts 2:42)

"But what does it say? 'The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart' (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, 'Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.' For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For 'everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved' " (Romans 10:8-13)

"My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:8-11)

Sunday Sermon Prep

To help you prepare for worship, here are the weekly readings for Divine Services in June:

June 6

  • 1 Kings 17:17-24
  • Galatians 1:11-24
  • Luke 7:11-17

June 13

  • 2 Samuel 11:26-12:10, 13-14
  • Galatians 2:15-21; 3:10-14
  • Luke 7:36-8:3

June 20

  • Isaiah 65:1-9
  • Galatians 3:23-4:7
  • Luke 8:26-39

June 27

  • 1 Kings 19:9b-21
  • Galatians 5:1, 13-25
  • Luke 8:26-39