ABOUT
Word & Sacraments Apostolic Lutheran is a confessing Lutheran church right here in Sophia.
We believe as true, the Christian doctrine of the Old and New Testaments of the Holy Bible. This Christian doctrine is expounded in the un-altered Augsburg Confessions, Luther’s small and large Catechism, the Book of Concord and the Apostolic Confession together with the three ecumenical symbols, (the Apostles Creed, the Athanasian Creed, the Te Deum), and the Nicene Creed. These all we hold to be in agreement with the Holy Bible and uphold the confession of the one true apostolic faith. (Tit. 2:1, 2 Tim 4:3, 1 Tim. 1:10, Tit. 1:9)
All ritual and polity of the Church are to be governed according to the immovable truths of the above-mentioned confessions, namely, that the Holy Word of God (both the Old and New Testaments) and its doctrines as taught in the doctrinal statement above are the sole authority of truth. In the light of which all doctrine in this Church is examined and determined.
The principal calling of this church body is the propagation of the Word, which shall manifest itself in sound doctrine, the proclamation of the Gospel (preaching of repentance and the remission of sins), and by the administration of the Holy Sacraments.
We would also like to include the statement written by our ancestors, when they first set out to organize a church here in America, to demonstrate our oneness in doctrine and our desire to remain faithful in the same doctrine.
We pray with our forefathers:
We bow the knees of our hearts before God and our Lord Jesus Christ, heartily to thank Him that He has permitted the light of His Gospel to shine afar – to his migrant people here in this land and also that our hearts have partaken of this Gospel by faith, having received the Spirit of adoption.
We thank God that He has allowed the Light of His Word to shine in the land of our forefathers, and has permitted the sacraments to be rightly administered in conjunction with the church, whose influence has been felt for hundreds of years, often in the midst of afflictions.
Respectfully have the awakened people of this period such as Lars Levi Laestadius, Anti Laitinen, John Raattama, etc. honored the state church.
The latter mentioned wrote in the July, 1895 issue of the Christian Monthly as follows:
“These Christians have always faithfully remained within the church, administering the sacraments and the Word, etc., being fully aware how God desires to teach all men on earth to know and reverence the common sacramental church.”
We therefore have striven to build an organization around the Word and sacraments. In the course of the church organization among our immigrant people, it has never been our intention to sever ourselves from the fellowship of the common church and Spirit of God’s elect as represented by the Zion of Finland. Since the *Church of Finland has not undertaken any organization in this connection, we felt it our sacred responsibility, in view of the need to incorporate our Church in accordance with the laws of our land. We sincerely hope the *Church of Finland, and the Lord’s Zion there, will also look favorably upon this undertaking in the Lord. “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us all!” Amen.
*We uphold this statement with the caveat, that the outward institution of the Church of Finland or now known as “Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland” has along with much of European Christianity, been seduced the spirit of the times, and in the matters of female ordination, endorsement of same sex unions, ecumenicalism and other such errors, have grievously fallen away. Thus, we cling to the Lord’s Zion. May God preserve us from such judgement, and may He with grace restore the fallen church back into living Christianity.