All Things Made New

When the leaders and biblical scholars of the ELCA try to justify their radical agenda, such as the Human Sexuality-Gift and Trust statement, they typically cite 2 Corinthians 5:17, saying that God has made all things new. Again, this is only part of the truth, since the leadership of this wayward denomination revels in half truths. Just as the evil one uses only the parts of truth that are pleasing in order to tempt us into sinful acts, the leaders of the ELCA use the same tactic. Taken out of context, this verse would lead one to believe that everything is new and maybe the old things, such as God’s law, written so long ago, must be updated and made new to better relate to our modern society. But, when one delves into the word and discerns the truth of God’s will, one will have a different idea of “new”. 2 Corinthians 5:15-21, “So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 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.”
 
Once we take the entire portion of this passage and listen to the word, we have a much better understanding of God’s will. While the leadership of the ELCA would have you believe that God is now telling us something new and that we should disregard portions of God’s law because we are now more enlightened, this is a false message. We are a new creation because we have set aside those things of the world that came between us and the Lord. We now deny ourselves and place His will before our own. Jesus said that we must be willing to take up His cross and love Him above all else, our families and especially ourselves. The doctrines promoted by the leaders of the ELCA lift up the self above our Lord and place human reasoning and experience in authority of Scripture. This is worse than heresy. This is a clear violation of the First Commandment, because to accept these doctrines is to worship yourself, your identities, and your worldly desires.

Revelations 21:1-5, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” The time to make all things new in this world is when our Lord and Savior comes in glory to begin His new kingdom. For the leadership of the ELCA to lead their flock astray with the false promises that their sin is somehow now acceptable to God is beyond reprehensible.

The evil one uses deception in order to convince us that our sinful behavior is justified. The leaders of the ELCA do no differently. For if we continue as slaves to sin, we will die in that sin. We need to become slaves of Christ, for only then will we be truly alive in Him. Romans 6:19-23, “Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” If we follow the false gospel promoted by the leaders of the ELCA, we will become slaves to ourselves and wallow in our own sinful behavior. If we reject this false gospel and follow the Truth that is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we will be set free from sin and truly be able to accept the gift of God’s grace. There will come a time when we will all be made new and sin will be no more, and that is when our Savior returns in glory, not when the misguided leaders of a church proclaim that certain sins are no longer sinful because they believe that now God is telling them something new!.