As children we always asked for one more cookie, to stay up just 10 minutes more, or stay outside to play with our friends, even though it was dark. But, our parents knew what was best for us and made those decisions that kept us safe from ourselves and our selfishness. Humans are dependent upon their parents for food and protection throughout childhood. If we were left to our own devices, most of us would never survive to reach adulthood. Our parents nurture us and provide love, encouragement, boundaries and rules that we cannot understand as children. As children of God, we fall under the auspices of our Father in Heaven. When we revert back to the selfishness of our childhood, God has provided the boundaries and rules to keep us safe from our eternal damnation. He provides the path toward righteousness and our salvation. 1 Peter 1:8-9, 13-15, “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.”
When we give ourselves to our Savior, we empty our hearts of the desires of this world. We are made a new creation, formed by our Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” The leadership of the ELCA contends that God is now saying a new thing, one that supports the direction they wish to lead their membership. What is truly unfortunate is that they are leading their members away from the Lord, back to their selfish ways, placing human needs and desires in authority of Scripture. Using the doctrine of bound conscience, sin no longer has any meaning to those that choose to believe that their behavior is acceptable to God. Unfortunately, their chosen sin remains sinful in the eyes of the Lord. His law remains, no matter what the leaders of a wayward denomination want their membership to believe.
When we decide that God’s law is no longer important, we revert back to the child that does not have any boundaries and decides to eat that whole bag of candy. Although it is pleasant to eat, the stomachache that follows reminds us of our foolish decision. While the good news of the Gospel offers forgiveness, the law of the Old Testament keeps us safe and on the path toward righteousness. Although we never truly attain anything close to righteousness, we certainly can manage to make a mess of things when we disregard God’s law. The Gospel and law work hand in hand. When we truly accept the Gospel of Jesus Christ and turn over our lives to Him, we will joyfully obey. To think that humankind can ignore the law set down by the Creator and giver of life, and comprise doctrine that rejects the word of God, is truly apostasy. Isaiah 40:6-8, “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. 7 The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.” We are called to obey the God who gives us life and sustains us throughout our lives. Fill your heart with the love of Christ and it will be obvious that His word is the Truth that we must follow. Many of our brothers and sisters accept these false teachings that sound so appealing and have become lost within the ELCA. It is our responsibility to rescue them from the false teachings of the ELCA. Expose these heretical teachings and proclaim the Truth. Pray unceasingly for the Truth to become known to them so that many more will rise up and return to the Lord and leave this misguided church behind.
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