At St. Matthew’s we believe and teach that: 

• there is only one God and that He reveals himself as Triune, that is, "three in one," Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;

•  the Bible is the inspired Word of God, God’s unchanging and inerrant message to people of all times;

• God created mankind holy and without sin, and that Adam and Eve, the first human beings, by their disobedience brought sin on the whole human race;

• all people are sinful by nature and transgress God’s holy will each day with sins of thought, word and action;

• the wages of sin is death and damnation in hell, a place of eternal agonizing separation from the kindness and goodness of God;

• God so loved the world that he sent his one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to redeem the world;

• Jesus paid for all sins of all people with his holy, precious blood when he suffered and died innocently on the cross;

• Jesus rose from the dead and his resurrection from the dead is God’s guarantee that all people have been justified or "declared not guilty";

• whoever believes this glorious truth has the forgiveness of sins and eternal life, but whoever does not believe it will be condemned;

• the faith to believe this good news is a gift of God which the Holy Spirit creates and preserves in the heart through the Gospel in the Word of God, Holy Baptism and Holy Communion;

• by this faith alone in the atoning work of Christ believers become heirs of eternal glory in heaven, and while on earth this faith will produce fruit as believers live lives of love for God and for others;

• upon death the souls of believers are taken to be with the Lord in heaven while the souls of unbelievers are condemned to hell;

• on the last day God will raise the bodies of all people from the grave, all people will stand before God for judgment and those who believed in Jesus will be invited to experience the full glory of life eternal in heaven.