What We Believe

• The canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible are the true written Word of God, and, therefore, is the final authority in all matters of faith and life. (John 20:31; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; 2 Peter 1:21)
• There is only one God, the Triune God, who has revealed Himself in three persons as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19; John 10:30)
• God created the world and all things in it, also creating man and woman in His image and that all of creation was originally without sin. (Genesis 1:1, 31, 2:4-9)
• Through the fall of Adam and Eve sin entered creation and thus all people are conceived and born sinful and separated from God (Psalm 51:5; Romans 3:23, 5:12) and are completely incapable of saving themselves by any efforts of their own. (Ecclesiastes 7:20; Ephesians 2:1; Titus 3:5; 1 John
  1:8) Because of sin, they are subject to God’s judgment through eternal death and damnation. (Romans 6:23)
• God, motivated by His unconditional love for us, provides for our salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ (John 1:14, 3:16; 1 Timothy 2:5) who is true God, eternally begotten of the Father, and at the same time true man, born of the Virgin Mary (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:34-35), who lived a perfect life for us (Hebrews 4:15, 7:26), died on the cross for us (Romans 5:6-8; 1 Corinthians 15:3; Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 2:9), bodily rose from the dead for us (1 Corinthians 15:4, 20-22), ascended to heaven and now reigns at the right hand of God for us (Mark 16:19; Ephesians 1:20), and will one day come again for us (Acts 1:11; 1 Corinthians 15:24) that believers may have eternal life with Him. (John 3:16, 5:28-29; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17)
  We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone given through the work of the Holy Spirit through no merit or work of our own. (John 3:16, 5:24, 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 5:8-9; Ephesians 2:8-9; Colossians 1:13-14)
• The Holy Spirit works through the means of grace – God’s Word and the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper – through which the blessings and benefits of Jesus’ saving death and resurrection, namely the forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation are offered to us. (Matthew 26:27-28; Romans 10:9-10, 17; 1 Corinthians 6:11; Titus 3:5)
• We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in the grace and truth (John 1:14) of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:12–13; 2 Corinthians 5:15; Galatians 3:26-29; Ephesians 4:4-6; 1 Timothy 2:1-4)
• Christians are called to live for Jesus, compelling us to integrate our faith in all aspects of life.
  (Matthew 22:36-40; John 15:5; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Ephesians 2:10; Colossians 3:17, 23-24) In service to our Lord, our primary mission is making disciples of every nation by bearing witness to Jesus Christ. (Matthew 28:19-20)

In living out these beliefs, we hold that all in our Rockford Lutheran School community are called to strive constantly and without ceasing to love, honor and serve the needs of all people as God’s beloved creation. By Christ’s own example, we are led to meet people where they are with compassion and in humility, including those with whom we hold profound disagreements. As we do so, we recognize the existence of different views without accepting those different views but listen closely as we seek the leading of the Holy Spirit and the power of God’s word to guide others into the way of the Lord. For the sake of unity and the proper teaching of Scripture we uphold these Biblical truths:

• God's Word calls us to a life of character, integrity, and honesty in relationships, thoughts, word and deed. 
• God created man and woman in His image and reserves all sexual activity to be within the confines of a marriage as his gift and for the sake of families.
• God's Word describes the human body as a temple, to be used to glorify God.
• God’s Word teaches us to value all of life from conception to natural death and to promote the physical, emotional and spiritual well-being of all people to the good of our neighbor and the glory of God.
• A deliberate focus on Christian character leads to responsible Christian service to one another and builds up our larger community. We serve out of our love for God, modeling our service after Christ’s example.
   

We are all broken and sinful people who journey through a broken and sinful world. We daily need to be confronted by God's demands, especially when we act in ways that divide our oneness, diminish our diversity, and otherwise fall short of God's original vision and intent for our lives. We daily need to hear God's promise of abundant life given to us in Jesus Christ. When we falter in our efforts, we recognize our sin and seek God's forgiveness and grace. We thus approach each other with repentance, forgiveness, reconciliation and renewal.