We are a Lutheran Church

We are a church of the Lutheran Church Australia (LCA). Lutherans make no claim to being the only Christian Church.  In fact we believe there is only ONE Christian church which is an invisible church of all believers – both from within and beyond the Lutheran Church. 

The Lutheran Church is a mainline Christian denomination, and shares central biblical truths with other Christian churches. Along with other mainline churches of all times;

  • We confess the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed.
  • We believe in the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
  • We believe Jesus Christ is both truly God, conceived by the Holy Spirit, and truly human, born of the Virgin Mary.
  • We hold the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the authoritative source for our teaching and practice.
  • Along with other Protestant churches we teach that people are put right with God by God’s undeserved love on account of Jesus’ death and resurrection and that this right relationship is received by people through faith. ‘Grace alone’, ‘Christ alone’, ‘Faith alone’, ‘Scripture alone’ is a simple summary of Protestant teaching in this area.
What makes us distinctive?
What you will often hear taught and lived at Prince of Peace.
  • Sinner/Saint.  We believe that Christians are totally right with God because of Jesus Christ and at the same time are always less than perfect because of sin.  God’s action is always grace (undeserved love) and God’s action is always central, not my action.  See Romans 7:14-25
  • The centrality of baptism.  For Lutherans baptism is not merely a rite or ceremony involving a person’s declaration of faith.  It is God’s action performed in the community of the church to claim a life under grace.  Baptism is the complete gift and we spend our lives unpacking its meaning.  See Romans 6:3-11.
  • The universal priesthood of all believers.  Baptism fits us for the ‘office’ of universal priesthood of all believers.  There is no privileged class in Christianity:  all have equal access to God’s grace and God is present in all.  The key marks of this priesthood are forgiveness of others as God has forgiven us, loving service of others as Christ has served us, and intercession, in which we take the concerns of each other to God in prayer.  See 1 Peter 2:9-10 and ‘one another’ verses.
  • Vocation.  God’s call is acted out in all occupations and stations in life.  Success by earthly standards is not a criterion for judging faithfulness to that call.  See 1 Corinthians 7:17-24
  • The limits to human reason in spiritual matters.  We do not reason our way into faith.  Reason is a tool in the service of faith, not its master.  Within these limits, reason remains nevertheless a glorious gift, because by using it we are able to discover and interpret revelation. See  Rom 11:33-36
  • The two natures of Christ.  In Jesus Christ God took human form.  Jesus always remains both truly God and truly human.  This frees us from searching for God elsewhere, and it means that God is truly present in Holy Communion, Baptism, the Scriptures, and the Christian community.  See 1 Corinthians 10:16-17
  • The theology of the cross.  The central event in Jesus’ ministry was not his teaching or miracles, but his death on the cross.  There he displayed his obedience to God and put our disobedience to death.  His glory and holiness were hidden in his suffering and death.  We are called to a similar obedience that may draw us into suffering and in which also our life with God may be hidden.  See 2 Corinthians 12:7-10
  • Resurrection life. The resurrection of Jesus is not only the guarantee that those who believe in him will be raised to eternal life after this present life. It is also the source of power for the Christian’s everyday life.  In baptism we have been buried with Christ and raised with Christ.  See 1 Corinthians 15:20-28; Romans 6:3-11
  • The distinction between Law and Gospel.  The Law is what God requires people to do for God.  The Gospel is what God does for people. Lutherans are careful not to confuse the two, and to keep the emphasis always on the Gospel, which alone gives freedom and life.  See Romans 8:1-11