There's no short answer to that question!

This is because our answer begins with the Holy Scriptures—all 66 books of the Old and New Testaments. We confess that the Bible is the inspired word of God, through which He reveals who He is, shows us our fallenness, and unveils the mystery of salvation in Jesus Christ.

Our answer continues with the Creeds: Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian. With the historic Christian Church, we use these creeds to confess the Triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—and especially that Jesus, the Son, became man, died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, was buried, and was raised to new life on the third day.  

Next, our answer turns to the historic Confessions of the Lutheran Church, contained in the Book of Concord. This book confesses the truths of Scripture, and we join our voices to this confession because it accords with Scripture. Central to our Confessions is the great good news that we are saved by grace, through faith, so that no one may boast.

Finally, we are part of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS), a conservative, confessional church body. As part of this denomination, we walk together with other Lutherans in these same confessions, publicly confessing this same Gospel for the salvation of all who believe!