Ancient Words

“How long, O LORD, must I call for help? But you do not listen! “Violence is everywhere!” I cry, but you do not come to save. Must I forever see these evil deeds? Why must I watch all this misery? Wherever I look, I see destruction and violence. I am surrounded by people who love to argue and fight. The law has become paralyzed, and there is no justice in the courts. The wicked far outnumber the righteous, so that justice has become perverted. Look at the nations and watch – and be utterly amazed.” Habakkuk 1 3-5. It’s not often that one hearkens back to one of the lesser known books of the Old Testament, but many of you may find yourself pleading to God to intervene amidst the wickedness of our time, similar to the petitions offered by the Prophet Habakkuk. It is often hard to accept the fact that God allows injustice to reign in our world without raising His almighty hand to deliver us from all those who encourage and promote evil against humanity. Even some of our elected leaders endorse violence and confrontation against those they disagree with. Civil disobedience has always been the best used tool for the radical left, but now some of our leaders revel in violating our Constitution and laws in an act of political virtue signaling while an ever growing segment of the public openly support this appalling behavior. When will God say enough is enough?

In Habakkuk’s time, God grew so impatient and angry at the disobedience and outright evil in His chosen people, the Israelites, that He allowed an even more evil people, the Babylonians to attack and defeat them, carrying them away into bondage. I can’t imagine God being more upset with His people as evil abounds in this present age. Abortion is celebrated. All types of perversion are lifted up and praised. God’s own church calls out and berates those who hold fast to the Word and uphold traditional Christian doctrine. Churches openly advocate against Israel and fall into league with terrorist organizations that would want nothing less than to convert them to Islam or kill them. The evil one must be very pleased in this world today.

Well, in this present age, the wicked do not outnumber the righteous. It may seem so, since they typically are louder, more confrontational and less encumbered by maintaining the societal norm of engaging in rational and acceptable behavior. Our tendency to respond without having all the facts present infects all sides of the political and religious spectrum. We have become our own worst enemies in dealing with conflict. The left continually blames President Trump and talk radio for the decline of our political discourse, but the left has too long been unchallenged in establishing the “acceptable political narrative”, all the while berating those with whom they disagree. Long established truths of our faith are being, not only challenged, but altered to fit in with the world. Many churches no longer teach that Jesus is the only way, that there are many other valid paths. In many ways the church has become enamored with and overcome by the world, no longer offering a path to salvation, but uplifting the selfish nature of humanity over the will of the Lord.

Listening and engaging with those who hold the same opinion without any discourse with others with differing opinions leads society to engage in group think or what is called the “silo effect”. Social media infects our discourse with quick hitting accusations from the safety of our devices without discerning all the facts. False and misleading articles from unreliable sources cause many to become enraged. Far too many simply look at headlines without even taking the time to read the article before asserting their opinion for all to see. The deliberate avoidance of any discussion about religion or politics among those holding differing opinions only leads us away from any common ground or agreement. We are trapped in our own version of reality and will discount any opinion that contrasts from our own. Left vs. right political views and the, dare I say, hijacking of religion by the left, in an attempt to dilute and minimize our faith, will continue to gnaw away at our society until we end up at each other’s throats.

So, how does a Christian live in the world, but not be overcome by the world? How do we bridge the gap and engage in respectful and meaningful dialogue with our neighbors? What would Jesus want us to do? As difficult as it seems to be, Paul declared, “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:17-21 Easier said than done, you may say. How can one engage in productive conversation with someone who will not listen? Ask questions in an attempt to better understand the other’s position. If someone is in obvious error, pattern your questioning to elicit a response that forces them to uphold their argument with logic and facts. When the wayward attempt to convince you of the validity of their argument, it likely will shine the light upon the lack of any logic to their argument. “And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.” 2 Timothy 2:24-26

Avoid arguments and let the lost find their way by attempting to explain the unexplainable. Any attempt to convince will often lead to a door closing, ending any possibility to reconcile them to God. It is not us that can convince, it is the Holy Spirit. We can only attempt to plant the seeds of reconciliation; it is up to God to bring it to fruition. Once we realize that God’s got this under control, not us, we can begin to lessen our worries and concerns. “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 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. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:18-21

Spiritual Logic

“We don’t have to force Jesus on anybody, or convince individuals that their spiritual logic is faulty. Our task is to embody Christian love, not play savior” Peter W. Marty, an ELCA pastor in his column, Leaving Church Behind for the June 2014 “The Lutheran” magazine. Marty is a good soldier for the ELCA. Now fulfilling his oath to his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ is another matter. As with all good ELCA henchmen, the church and its’ congregational life is the most important aspect of their faith. Inclusivity, tolerance and diversity are what church is all about, isn’t it? After all, how could one properly embody true Christian love without an organization that leads the otherwise faithful. Marty muses about those that have kissed congregational life goodbye or have grown indifferent to faith. Curious the choice to place congregational life before faith is so very typical to this wayward denomination. This essay details several parishioners that fled his congregation. One couple left after reading his essay, Serendipitous, where on a particular Wednesday night, Marty inexplicably stopped at home to find his wife collapsed due to a brain aneurism. Marty’s Wednesday nights are typically filled with church activities and he seldom got home until very late. Not this day though. No credit given to God for directing him home at the precise time to enable him to save his wife’s life, simply an acknowledgement of a convergence of circumstances. Take a look at all some of the comments that accept Marty’s explanation that God is not in charge and that the Holy Spirit had nothing to do with this apparent miracle. It is so sad when a pastor decides that he needs to lead his flock astray in order to declare himself to be the smartest person in the room.

Marty cites another example of a self-absorbed man at whom Marty snarkily comments, “I sometimes wonder if Shawn is addicted to himself. He certainly figures frequently into the center of most conversations.” It appears that pastoral guidance and direction are above his pay grade. Marty then poses the question of what to do with those who were once shaped by Christian community and are a great distance from anything that hints of religious practice within an institution. Concern for their spiritual well-being will have to wait for someone else, perhaps like the ELCA doctrine of “Accompaniment”, since the seeds of faith were planted, his work is done. From there Marty moves into the blame game. Oh, those Christians that have the temerity to believe in the authority of Scripture. Those rotten Bible thumpers are always casting aspersions (and stones) on those lost souls that do not believe as they do. Holding true to the faith, believing that Jesus is the way and the light and the truth, believing that there is no way to the Father but through faith in the living Christ, apparently makes traditional Christians purveyors of exclusivity, building a wall between themselves and humanity. Yes, Marty does not specifically state this in his essay, but the inference is loud and proud. “Presumptuousness over our preferences and tastes is not a virtue.” Marty may liken himself to some of the great theologians that espoused novel and innovative interpretations of Scripture, but he doesn’t get it at all. In other words, his version of an explanation of the path God has set looks like so many lemmings falling off a cliff.

Yes, as followers of Christ, we are to embody Christian love. We are to share the love that He first gave us. We are to share the forgiveness that He gave to those who don’t deserve it. When we allow ourselves to be filled with the Holy Spirit, the love of Christ will flow from our hearts like a river. Everything we are is a gift from God. Pleasing Him is our greatest joy, yet our deepest disappointment as we fail, over and over, to follow our Father’s will. Paul said in Romans 7:14-25, “We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.” Jesus chose Paul to preach His Gospel to the world and even Paul found that his inner sinful nature caused him engage, over and over, in sinful behavior. We are no different. Through faith in the Risen Christ, one is no longer subject to the law, whose penalty is death. But, knowing that obedience to the law is pleasing to God, we can come to better understand the path He has set before us.

Therein lies the dangerousness of the doctrine of bound conscience that affirms sinners and disregards their sin. Without our acknowledgment that we are indeed sinful and cannot free ourselves from the grip of sin without our Lord and Savior, we are destined to fall away from His presence. Jesus Christ was sacrificed for us, a sinful humanity. Faith in the Risen Savior grants everlasting life. Our call is to share the love of Christ in our actions, in our words, and in our lives. It is the Holy Spirit working within us, not us trying to play savior. If someone’s spiritual logic is faulty, it is our responsibility to act to help lead them back to the Truth. 2 Timothy 4:2-4, “Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” Sorry Marty, the theology of the ELCA is drifting much closer to myth as it continues to abandon God’s Truth.

Again, as in most ELCA essays there is the cursory nod to diversity and sensitivity. “We get to think and talk thoughtfully, bringing fresh clarity to our faith convictions while expanding our sensitivity toward what may seem like the odd practices of others.” This is also promoting the idea of universalism that seems to be overtaking the ELCA and the hands off approach to evangelism that abandons their responsibility to reach the lost for Christ. Seems to me that Marty is intent upon challenging Christians to stand down and accept the diversity of other religions, rather than to proclaim the Gospel and reach the lost for Christ. If this distorted version of Christianity continues to be exposed to the world, more and more of God’s children will be lost.

Historically Critical

The historical critical method is one way that literary critics use to examine origins of ancient manuscripts in an attempt to interpret the historical and experiential prisms used by the author. This method of ascertaining intent attempts to identify the historical context in which it was written. Historical critics seek to reconstruct ancient texts by delving into the historical records of the time when it was composed. These critics attempt to recreate the historical facts known from that time and piece them together with the data compiled by the author. This method of research, when done appropriately, should allow the critic to properly interpret the historical significance of those documents. Most importantly, the researcher should have no preconceived notions regarding the specific text that is examined, using whatever facts that are available to uncover the truth.

Many of the historical critics of today tend to minimize the historicity of the Bible, maintaining that most of the information contained within is either fictional or are simply exaggerations by the authors. Further, many maintain that the original documents were altered by the scribes that translated the Bible into different languages in an effort to bolster claims made by the authors of Scripture. Many historical critics tend to lean on the notion that the Bible is primarily a literary collection from the early history of Israel. Many of these critics state that although it is a historical fact that Jesus Christ did exist at the time described in the Bible and it can be proven that He was a valid figure in the history of Israel, they remain skeptical of the miracles attributed to Him and His status as the Son of God. Some of the most prominent ELCA theologians have made it clear that they have made up their minds regarding the authority of Scripture.

Contrived doctrines, such as bound conscience, are evidence that ELCA theologians regard their opinions over the word of God. They pick and choose which verses of Scripture tend to advance their preconceived notions and desired conclusions. Abandoning the tenets of Lutheranism and replacing sound doctrine with human reasoning and opinion only prove that Biblical scholars in the ELCA truly do not believe in Scriptural authority and more often, fall in line with many of the secular critics. And those that hold fast to Biblical authority continue to be called out by ELCA pastors. In an April 5th edition of Salina.com, an on-line feature of the Salina Journal, ELCA pastor Lorna Paulus, in an article entitled, Ultimate Truth of Message , denounces those Christians that adhere to the authority of Scripture and believe God’s word to be without error. In a stunningly dishonest comment she states, “However, the ELCA does read Scripture differently than many of the groups who like to talk about "inerrancy." We believe that all Scripture is inspired by God. It is the norm for our Christian life. It is not, for us, as Beckmann quoted Borg, just a "human cultural product." But we refuse to take isolated verses of Scripture out of context and treat them as if they were the whole message as many of the "inerrancy" folk tend to do. We believe that taking Scripture out of context distorts the message of Scripture and can be used to twist Scripture to say things God never intended.” I could hardly believe this when I read it. Talk about having a plank in one’s eye!

Perhaps, Paulus should take the time to read the ELCA statement, Human Sexuality-Gift and Trust, and determine if, in fact, the ELCA Biblical scholars cherry pick Scriptural verses when attempting to justify behavior that God prohibits. Perhaps, she should educate herself as to how ELCA theologian, Tim Wengert disregards Scripture while he misinterprets and/or outright contrives illogical arguments to bolster the false doctrine of bound conscience. Obviously not all ELCA pastors are this misguided in their interpretation of the “new things” that are affecting the doctrine of the largest Lutheran Church body in the United States. But, pastors like this do lead their respective flocks and those in the pews listen to what these persons, ordained to preach the Gospel proclaim when they are in the pulpit. When our brothers and sisters in Christ have this type of preaching imposed upon them when they attend worship, some will come to believe and accept this as God’s will. We need to continue to proclaim the Gospel, loud and proud, so that all will come to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior, and make certain that those who have come to believe, do not fall away.

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:1-2

Peaks and Valleys

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.” Mark 8:34-38.

Our lives have many peaks and valleys, ebbs and flows. Our highs can be as brilliant as the sun, while we can also fall into the utter darkness of our lows. No matter how hard we try, some things will always be out of reach. Even our greatest successes come with the realization that our journey is not complete. Reaching the mountain peak ends with the trip back down that is just as arduous, perhaps even more dangerous than our ascent. No matter what achievements we accomplish, there is another hurdle waiting for us to conquer. No measure of fame or fortune will ever fully satisfy our longing. We were carefully crafted by our Creator. There is a deliberate emptiness ingrained into our souls that can be filled with the one and only thing that truly completes us.

Problem is, we need to deny our very self in order to welcome this life saving thing into our lives. Our selfish nature fights against giving in to the very thing that can truly fill our empty hearts. Self-preservation is the natural state of humanity and giving up our autonomy grates against that fact. What is so special about this thing that saves us from ourselves? That one special thing that your heart longs for is the saving grace of Jesus Christ. How do we get it? Open your heart and allow Jesus Christ to enter your heart. What is the cost? The cost was already borne by a Savior that stood in for you. When we come to the realization that we are bound to sin and cannot free ourselves without His saving grace, we can finally let go. No matter what we do, we cannot earn our salvation. No matter what we say can free us from the condemnation that is the consequence for our actions and inactions.
But, when Jesus was nailed to that cross, He took with Him all of our sins. He freely substituted Himself for us and accepted the punishment we rightly deserve. Three days after His death His resurrection opened the door to eternity for each and every one of us. How can this be? Don’t we have to earn this grace? Don’t we have to obey all the rules? It is simply having faith in the Risen Savior. That’s all. Allow Christ into your heart and let Him fill you with the joy of your salvation.

So many in the secular world decry Christianity as simply a religion of rules that cannot be kept, a religion that is critical of non-believers, and a religion that excludes, rather than welcomes. Why would anyone choose to belong to an organization with people who cannot even remotely live up to the commandments they profess to believe and revere? Because it is not about us. Because we are every bit as sinful as those who do not know Christ. Because nothing we can do or say can earn even a portion of the grace granted those who believe in God’s one true Son. Yet, the only thing God asks in return for this gift is your heart. When you believe in the Risen Christ, all is granted to you. When you step away from the shackles of this life that constantly pull you down and accept the freedom that comes with giving your heart to Christ, a great weight is lifted. When you realize that God is in control, the emptiness fades. From Casting Crowns praise hymn, "All You’ve Ever Wanted", “All You've ever wanted, all You've ever wanted, all You've ever wanted was my heart. Freedom's arms are open, my chains have all been broken. Relentless love has called me from the start. And all You wanted was my heart. I was chasing healing when I'd been made well. I was fighting battles when You conquered hell. Living free but from a prison cell, Lord, I lay it down today. So I'll stop living off of how I feel and start standing on Your truth revealed. Jesus is my strength, my shield and He will never fail me. No more chains, I've been set free. No more fighting battles You've won for me. Now in Christ, I stand complete.”

Mainline Protestant churches fight to stem the loss of members by watering down the Truth, choosing to fight for social justice rather than proclaiming the Gospel, affirming sinful behavior rather than standing for the authority of Scripture and acquiescing to secular society rather than leading the lost to Christ. The leaders of the ELCA, UCC and Episcopal churches have lost their way. Far too many of our brothers and sisters in Christ have put their trust in churches that are leading them away from the Truth. Pray for those adrift in the heresies promoted by these errant denominations, that they open their hearts, eyes and minds and return to the path that the Lord has set before them. “Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32.

House of Cards

Jesus spoke about the importance of building a house on a solid foundation. Why then would God make the very truths of His Kingdom built upon a house of cards? It would be much easier to simply base His word on solid, scientific ground. Think about it for a minute. God created the universe by simply speaking it into existence and did it in 6 days no less. The “Big Bang” and following that, evolution, or that life sprang into existence by random comingling of certain molecules, is considered settled science. Well, actually there is no proof that the universe began with a big bang, nor that life simply created itself. It actually takes a leap of faith to believe that it is the intelligence of man that has allowed us to formulate a process by which we, and all that is around us, has come to be. But, belief that an almighty God, who loves us without end, created this world and everything in it, for us, His children, somehow is implausible to this enlightened society.

Then God sends His only Son to take the punishment meant for us. The word made flesh. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary, an unmarried teenage virgin accepts the word of God and is chosen to carry our Savior. Is this proclaimed to King Herod? Caesar Augustus? In the temple to the High Priest? No, Mary receives this gift without a witness. Her betrothed, Joseph, is told in a dream. When the time of our Savior’s birth arrives, He is born in a stable and the announcement is made to shepherds, the lowest and most untrustworthy of that time. When Jesus hangs on the cross, no angels come to save Him and he is sacrificed as a lamb, accepting His death without any struggle. When He rises after 3 days in the tomb, who is there when the angel of the Lord proclaims that He is not here. He is risen? Three women are the primary witnesses to Christ’s resurrection. Realize that women in Jesus’ time did not even have the right to testify in court. Jesus did not arrive in the center court of Jerusalem or Rome and proclaim His resurrection. God trusted what were considered unreliable witnesses to pronounce the arrival of the Risen Lord. Even the twelve Disciples were quite a motley crew.

Last Christmas, Exposing the ELCA posted an article found on Bishop Michael Reinhart’s blog, written by Dr. Rev. Don Carson, assistant to the Bishop. This article called into question the Virgin Birth. I made a comment on both blogs. At Exposing the ELCA I used Paul’s invocation in 1 Corinthians that without belief in the Virgin Birth Jesus’ resurrection was meaningless and your faith would be useless. On Reinhart’s blog I asked him why he would choose to give a platform to a person of faith that was questioning foundational Christian beliefs when there are enough skeptics in the secular world. Not surprisingly, he chose to not publish my comment. I made a second comment to him thanking him for reinforcing my belief that bound conscience is a one way street and the only diversity allowed was what the leadership of the ELCA allowed. Another commenter, Chad Silverman, had 3 comments published, calling those that frequent the Exposing the ELCA blog site irrational fundamentalists, apologizing for entering into the moronic discussion there, and chastising me for being in error in my comparing an invalidation of the Virgin Birth to Jesus’ resurrection.

See, the problem is that our faith is built upon a house of cards. When we proclaim our faith in the Apostle’s Creed, we believe that Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord: Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary. Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, died and was buried: He descended into hell: The third day he rose again from the dead: He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. The timeline of the Gospel is intrinsically linked. Remove the Truth of the Virgin Birth, and Jesus is no longer Son of God. If He is not the Son of God, His resurrection is meaningless, although still miraculous. If He is not the Son of God, God did not come down to earth in flesh to be a sin offering to cleanse us of our sin. If He is not the Son of God, we are still under the law and the condemnation that it brings. Remove or minimize any of the Truths of the Christian faith and it all falls down and our faith is useless. Our faith is not useless. God gave us the greatest gift imaginable. He made the greatest sacrifice ever made. His love for us is without measure and we should be forever grateful, not question or pervert His word. His word is timeless and true.

The Truth never needs to be sugar coated. The written word that chronicles God’s commands and Jesus’ life is what it is. Faith is not about grandiose stories. Faith is not about what we would want God to do. Faith is about what He has done for us. The Creator of the universe is not confined to what man determines is possible. Science is irrelevant to the God of all power and glory. It does matter where the 23 chromosomes Jesus received came from. It does matter that Christ’s resurrection was physical and not some sort of apparition. It does matter that the Bible is God’s Truth for His children. Nothing is impossible for our God. These learned, enlightened leaders of wayward churches like the ELCA continue to cast stones at the Lord in order to ingratiate themselves with the world. They may get the invitations to the popular parties, but the true host of those parties is Satan himself. The ELCA, UCC and Episcopal church make it easy for the evil one to pervert sinful hearts. They are willing accomplices for the evil one and do not please the Lord. 2 Corinthians 13:7-8, “Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong—not so that people will see that we have stood the test but so that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth.”

If the Shoe Fits

Martin Luther penned a letter on August 1st, 1521 to his fellow priest Philip Melanchton. A small portion of the content of this letter is a major emphasis in the ELCA’s foray into apostasy and insistence in proclaiming sin, particularly the sin of homosexuality, as good in the eyes of their church. “Sin boldly” is the rallying cry of the misguided that declare that God could not have possibly understood how enlightened mankind would become, or that His children would pronounce the maker of the universe, mistaken. In August of 2009 as the ELCA churchwide assembly voted to accept practicing homosexuals as righteous, a tornado struck the ELCA church across the street from the convention center hosting the ELCA CWA, breaking the steeple and turning the cross upside down. This sign was declared by advocates of the assembly’s decision as a wind of change and that God approved of the actions of the assembly. Perhaps, God’s chosen that lived when the disobedient 30,000 Israelites were swallowed up by the earth and the perverse residents of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by burning sulfur rained down from heaven believed similarly, since many returned to their disobedience shortly thereafter.

From Luther’s letter; "If you are a preacher of Grace, then preach a true, not a fictitious grace; if grace is true, you must bear a true and not a fictitious sin. God does not save people who are only fictitious sinners. Be a sinner and sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly. For he is victorious over sin, death, and the world. As long as we are here we have to sin. This life in not the dwelling place of righteousness but, as Peter says, we look for a new heaven and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. . . . Pray boldly-you too are a mighty sinner."
 
“If you are a preacher of mercy, do not preach an imaginary but the true mercy. If the mercy is true, you must therefore bear the true, not an imaginary sin. God does not save those who are only imaginary sinners. Be a sinner, and let your sins be strong, but let your trust in Christ be stronger, and rejoice in Christ who is the victor over sin, death, and the world. We will commit sins while we are here, for this life is not a place where justice resides. We, however, says Peter (2. Peter 3:13) are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth where justice will reign. It suffices that through God's glory we have recognized the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. No sin can separate us from Him, even if we were to kill or commit adultery thousands of times each day. Do you think such an exalted Lamb paid merely a small price with a meager sacrifice for our sins? Pray hard for you are quite a sinner.”

When we pick and choose what we want to believe, while disregarding those passages of Scripture that we disagree with or are troubling to us, we deny God’s authority and behave as petulant children, ungrateful for all the gifts He has bestowed us. The leaders of the ELCA trivialize the tenets of the Lutheran faith, leading their membership away from the Lord and pushing them to worship themselves, their possessions and their identities by adopting the doctrine of bound conscience. So much of the ministry of the ELCA emphasizes social justice while reaching out to save the lost is less than an afterthought. Luther was right. This world is not fair. It is not a place where justice resides. We live in a broken world. We are here to proclaim the glory of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. This world is but a stopping place on our journey to eternity, and a short stay at that. Like it or not, we are all sinners, no matter your chosen sexuality or sinful proclivity. Place your trust in the saving grace of our Savior and your sexuality no longer matters, only furthering God’s kingdom and giving Him all your praise. We do not put our trust in an institution that is falling away from the teachings of Jesus.

When Luther reached that epiphany that man cannot earn his way into heaven and is saved by faith in the Risen Christ alone, our understanding of God’s grace and our salvation was changed forever. No one is righteous. Only one human being was ever righteous, and that was and is Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Redeemer and Savior, who took upon himself the sin of all the world, suffered our punishment and rose, defeating death, opening the path to our salvation. Christ alone is the reason for our joy. Christ alone is to be given all the glory. Christ alone has all authority to save us from ourselves. So, this wayward denomination that places human understanding on an even plane with the Creator of all that is and stands accused of promoting heresy, affirming sinfulness, advocating multiple paths to salvation and endorsing the worship of the self, lashes out at those that attempt to lead them back to the path our Lord set out for them.

Truly, if the shoe fits, wear it. 1 Timothy 6:3-5, “Teach and urge these things. If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.” Yet, the leaders of the ELCA persist in their declaration that God, through the Holy Spirit inspired authors of Scripture, could not possibly understand how times have changed and then try to justify their apostasy by inferring that God is telling them new things. That is truly reading between the lines and putting words in God’s mouth. Every time I read a passage of Scripture, I am truly amazed how those words written so long ago, are still so pertinent to our lives.

Continue in prayer that our brothers and sisters in Christ have their hearts and minds opened to the true Gospel of Jesus Christ and realize the reckless path that the leaders of the ELCA would have them travel.

Written on Your Heart

You get too much change back from the cashier and that little voice is telling you to correct that mistake and return your windfall. You see that confused elderly woman apparently lost and you take the time to approach her and help. You pass the bell ringer at the local market and you dig into your wallet and take out a ten dollar bill and place it in the red container. Every time we feel that gentle nudge, that so many call our conscience, is nothing of the sort. Our conscience is simply God’s laws that are written upon every human being’s heart. Even unbelievers have these pangs of conscience. Criminals, those from broken homes, those that were never taught any moral values, those that have never stepped foot in church, and even sociopaths do know right from wrong. This is not a learned response. Whether or not we want, what breaks our Lord’s heart does indeed break ours. Romans 2:14-15, “(Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.)”

When we are faced with ethical and moral choices, God’s law shows us the way, even though He does not require that we obey. Romans 10:14-19, “because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin.” Our Lord and Savior, our Redeemer Jesus Christ has already paid the penalty for our sin. We are free and clear if only we believe in God’s one true Son. If we were required to obey the law in order to gain our salvation, we would all fall woefully short and Heaven would be a truly empty and lonely place.

So, what of those that choose to invoke their bound conscience and willfully disobey? For certain, God is not pleased. It takes much convincing from the misguided leadership of a church to overcome what God has indelibly imprinted on His children. Lies, disguised as “new things” must be repeated over and over, hidden behind the flawed goals of social justice and the imperfect love of the neighbor, masquerading as imparting God’s perfect love. Acceptance of alternate lifestyles, fixing our “broken” planet, decrying white privilege and promoting anti-heterosexism, as what is called anti-racism, and siding with terrorist nations while denouncing God’s chosen people, Israel, are promoted in numerous social statements and messages from misguided churches looking to diminish sin by affirming what an immoral society has accepted. This new religion persuades the faithful to engage with the world and transform God’s word to conform with secular values, rather than working to change the world and bring the lost closer to God. Those engaging in this ill-advised assault on God’s law know full well the evil they are promoting. Every brother and sister in Christ lost in the apostasy of the ELCA, UCC and Episcopal churches, adds another millstone around the neck of those leaders that promote these false gospels.

When we fall into the selfishness that so permeates our society, we push our God aside and worship ourselves, our identities and our accomplishments. Love your God with all your heart, all your mind, with all your soul, and all your strength is replaced with affirmation of the self, minimization of sin, and human experience and tradition replaces the authority of Scripture. Want to please the Lord? Dwell in His word and keep His commandments. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ inspired the authors of Scripture, through the Holy Spirit and put to words our Father’s instruction manual for His children. Anyone who teaches a gospel other than the one Jesus taught, teaches a false gospel and leads those who listen away from Him. Galatians 1:9, “If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!

For Lutherans, the doctrine of Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone) guides us in our spiritual lives. Study and learn God’s word and the false teaching of charlatans disguised as “ELCA Biblical scholars” will be apparent. Our obedience is an insignificant undertaking for those who love God and want to please Him in all we do. Continue in prayer for those lost and adrift in those churches that lead them away from the Lord.

Legalistic Evangelicalism

In the September 2012 edition of The Lutheran magazine, the featured article included the term legalistic evangelicalism. I’ve never heard this before, but I can actually somewhat agree with its premise. The author was casting aspersions on Christians that use a form of Spiritual abuse when they attempt to uphold the authority of Scripture. You see, many, and you can include me among them, were up in arms about the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly action to de-sin homosexuality and allow practicing homosexuals to preach from ELCA pulpits. Many faithful Christians that view this new doctrine as rebellion against God’s law, but only emphasize the defiance of God’s law and the sin it produces, are truly missing the point. The question is not what we do when we engage in sin, but why we choose to disobey.

Deliberate disobedience of our Lord’s commands is not exclusive to liberal or progressive Christians. We all commit sins against our God daily. We admit that we sin by what we have done and what we have left undone, so we do acknowledge that we sin by commission and omission. Even though believers are no longer subject to punishment for breaking God’s law, we will repent and ask God for forgiveness. So, since it is more than apparent that all of us deliberately engage in sin all too often, why are the actions of the leadership of the ELCA so troubling? Are we falling into the trap of rating our sinful acts on a scale that minimizes one’s particular chosen indulgence?

Progressive “Christians” criticize those that object to their misguided attempt to modernize our faith with their flawed human logic. They wag their fingers at those they view as unenlightened Bible thumpers that are intentionally using their Bibles as war clubs, calling them hateful, homophobic and judgmental. Well, when we call out our brothers and sisters simply on the basis of their disobedience, we indeed become the Pharisee that Jesus called out in Scripture. Fact of the matter is that we are no longer required to obey the law in order to attain righteousness. The Gospel bestows righteousness to those who believe in God's one true Son. We are no longer subject to the punishment our disobedience warrants. When Jesus went to the cross he took all, that’s right all sin, committed yesterday, today and tomorrow. He suffered and died, in our place, willingly accepting the punishment meant for us, so that we could be forgiven by, and reconciled with our Father. When Jesus rose three days later, defeating death, He opened the door for all those who believe, to eternal life with Him in Heaven. Jesus said in John 3:16-18, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”

Once we truly believe, we endeavor to please our God by obeying His commands. Is this mandatory? No, even when we try our best to obey, we continue to fall short. Even with our best of intentions, we still choose to deliberately disobey. Does our God love us any less because of our shortcomings? No, His love is unconditional. Faith in the Risen Christ is enough. Good works, obedience, tithing or submitting to any other law does not gain us any special favor with God. So, we must be careful when we call out our brothers and sisters in Christ that decide to invoke their bound conscience and defy our Lord and Savior. Again, it is not what they do, but why they choose disobedience. Bound conscience is simply a tool used by those who do not want to deny their selfish human nature. Bound conscience uses man's imperfect love to overturn the authority of Scripture. Bound conscience creates a god in the image of man, a god that would never restrict man's liberty in any way. The issue is just how do we convince our brothers and sisters in Christ that the ELCA is peddling a false gospel so that they can return to the narrow path?

We must remember to reach out in love to correct, rebuke and encourage, with great patience and careful instruction. Far too often we dwell on the breaking of the law, when we should give counsel, explaining where that disobedience will lead. Far too many of our brothers and sisters in Christ that remain in churches steeped in apostasy, truly believe that they are doing God’s will. When we are viewed as angry and judgmental, it becomes easy for those we only want to help return to the Lord, to shut us out and make them even more determined to continue on their path.

Perhaps, we should heed the words of the contemporary Christian group, Casting Crowns from their song, Jesus Friend of Sinners.

Jesus, friend of sinners, we have strayed so far away. We cut down people in your name but the sword was never ours to swing. Jesus, friend of sinners, the truth's become so hard to see. The world is on their way to You, but they're tripping over me. Always looking around but never looking up I'm so double minded, a plank eyed saint with dirty hands and a heart divided.

Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, open our eyes to the world at the end of our pointing fingers. Let our hearts be led by mercy. Help us reach with open hearts and open doors. Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, break our hearts for what breaks yours.

Jesus, friend of sinners, the one who's writing in the sand, who made the righteous turn away and the stones fall from their hands. Help us to remember we are all the least of these. Let the memory of Your mercy bring Your people to their knees. Nobody knows what we're for, only what we're against when we judge the wounded. What if we put down our signs, crossed over the lines, and loved like You did.

You love every lost cause; you reach for the outcast, for the leper and the lame; they're the reason that You came. Lord I was that lost cause and I was the outcast, but you died for sinners just like me, a grateful leper at Your feet.

We are no longer under the law, but under grace when we have faith in the Risen Christ. When we reach out to help our brothers and sisters lost within the heresies of the ELCA, reach out in true Christian love, praying unceasingly for their hearts and minds to be opened to the Truth..

'Nuff Said?

Should sleeping dogs be left alone? Is it finally time to wash our hands of those who choose to maintain unity with a heretical church that challenges the very authority they have pledged to uphold? Should we just shake the dust off our sandals or treat them as one would treat a pagan or a tax collector? After all, so many have tried and failed to lead the “Apostasy Gone Wild” ELCA back to the path that our Lord calls us to travel. Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

Truth is, if just one brother or sister in Christ is brought back to the true Gospel, all our effort will not be in vain. While we are called to proclaim the word to the world and to bring the lost to Jesus, it is even more important to bring those back who knew Him, but have fallen away. 2 Peter 2:20-21, “If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.”

The leaders of the ELCA continue to lead our brothers and sisters in Christ toward the gospel of tolerance, acceptance and affirmation and away from the Lord. They continue to tout that is with love that they reach out and accept behavior that God prohibits. Man’s imperfect love supplants God’s perfect love in their flawed reasoning. While their flawed logic refuses to obey God’s commands, they lash out against those that offer a guiding hand. It often appears that our pleas for a return to the tenets of our faith are falling upon deaf ears. Jeremiah 5:21,30-31 “Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear: A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land: The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end?” Genetics, environmental issues, healthcare, immigration, sexuality and criminal justice are just a few of the driving ministries of the ELCA. Preach the word and bring the lost to Him? Now that is the issue that God’s church needs to tackle. When a church allows, even encourages questioning the very truths they are charged to uphold, how does this further God’s Kingdom?

ELCA leaders continue to ridicule those that are so archaic to continue to blindly accept the authority of Scripture. Loyal ELCA members cast their own aspersions at those who only want their brothers and sisters in Christ to open their eyes, hearts and minds to the everlasting truths of our faith. Why does it grieve us so to see this church leave the narrow path of righteousness to pursue worldly desires and ideals? Philippians 3:18-21, “For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.”

There are far too many of our brothers and sisters in Christ that have been blinded by the pleasing words used by the leaders of the ELCA. Those supposed men and women of God are simply purveyors of worldly desires, leading the faithful over the precipice like so many lemmings. “I’ve been going to this church all my life.” “All my friends go to my church.” “I don’t believe you.” “My pastor doesn’t believe that way and would never preach that.” “We should not break the unity of the church.” Well my friends, a church is nothing if it is not part of the body of Christ, and the ELCA is doing much more than simply drifting away from God. After all, the enlightened ELCA leadership calls for those who disagree to maintain unity with the church, not Christ. There is a reason our God had His words put to writing for us, and rewriting them to placate selfish human desires was not part of that purpose. His words were true then, are now and will be forever. John 6:68-69, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” Keep proclaiming the Truth until all the world has heard!

Inappropriately Partisan

In the October 2012 Lutheran Magazine, the featured article is titled Lutherans and Politics, the “two Kingdoms” and putting the needs of others first. The article, written by Darrell H. Jodock, an ELCA pastor who teaches at Gustavus Aldophus College in Minnesota, starts inauspiciously enough, with a tale about his father who got involved in local politics. So, like most of the essays published by proxies of the ELCA, it contains some truth and sound doctrinal premises. But, the central segment of the article does not focus on those truths and sound doctrine. Instead, Jodock decides to rewrite history, inserting his opinions by stating that Martin Luther “advocated freedom of conscience in matters of religious belief.” He goes on to state that Luther believed that “individuals were free to hold theological ideas that disagreed with the church’s doctrines but not to teach them publicly. Americans have, rightly I think, broadened the concept of religious liberty.”  Some Americans have indeed replaced the wisdom and will of our Creator with their own misguided opinions and ideas.

Luther stated, in his testimony at the Diet at Worms, Germany in 1521, “…I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. May God help me. Amen.” How one can draw the conclusion that Jodock infers in his essay, is absolutely mind boggling. But, when one wishes to promote a narrative leading to a desired result, the ends are often deemed to justify the means. In fact, Luther did nothing to indicate that he advocated for the freedom of conscience in matters of religious belief or the freedom to hold theological ideas that were contrary to proper doctrine. In one particular instance Luther did chastise his fellow priests at his parish for deciding to serve both the host and wine at Holy Communion while he was away from Wittenberg. Since some congregants did not wish to take the wine, he stated that their weak conscience should be respected and those congregants should not be forced to take both the host and wine. To extrapolate that Luther advocated for individuals to hold theological ideas that were contrary to church doctrine is patently false. Nothing in his writings would indicate this conclusion.

It gets even better as the essay progresses. Jodock states, “For example, Christians bless marriages, but marriage itself is a matter of the state.” Apparently, to Jodock marriage is no longer a sacrament of the church. He goes on, “..the primary question for voters should not be what the Christian view of marriage is but what serves the interest of the community as a whole…But the question of what compelling interest the state has in reserving marriage for heterosexuals deserves careful consideration.” Jesus said in Matthew 19:4-6, “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” It is true that our Lord and Savior did not speak of homosexuality in the Gospels, but He made it abundantly clear that marriage is reserved for one male and one female.

Jodock advocates that Lutheran tradition instructs us to focus on specific problems experienced by real people such as, “How can we help those victims of violence who are seeking political asylum in our country and are housed in our jails.” What???? To date, I have found no one meeting the above criteria imprisoned in US jails. Sounds like something any good ELCA Lutheran should be up in arms about, but this is just another patently false claim made by Jodock. The essay continues with an admonishment to the untruths that seem to assail us from all sides in our political rhetoric. “We remember, for example, the false impressions created by describing as “death panels” the proposal in Congress to fund conversations with a doctor about responsible end-of-life decisions.” The untruth about this statement is that the “death panels” that Jodock asserts are benign and normal conversations with their primary care physician are nothing of the sort. These “death panels” he describes are actually bureaucrats that sit in judgment and decide who will be approved for extraordinary measures to prolong life, having the authority to deny treatment to those deemed no longer worth the cost due to age in particular. Jodock cites another example, although he cites no specific circumstances, …”many false claims about refugees and immigrants." What false claims he is speaking of is left up the reader of this essay to invent.

No progressive essay would be complete without reference to the 99% and the evil 1%. Citing an unidentified study, he bemoans the inequities in incomes between the top 1 percent and the rest of the country. Economic inequity on both a national and international level with the predictable rant about changing consumer habits on a global scale. Then it is back at one of his pet peeves, the unfair immigration policies that the US imposes upon those seeking to enter this country against the law. While Jodock acknowledges that government is a gift from God, he implicitly ignores Scripture in this matter. 1 Peter 2:13-14, “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.” Jodock concludes the essay by returning to more of a Scriptural bent, lulling the trusting reader into believing that the content of the entire essay is also Scripturally based.

When the leaders of the ELCA allow essays such as this, that are littered with untruths and misguided opinions, their members are put at risk. We are sheep of our Lord’s flock and we inherently trust that the leaders of God’s church are led by the Holy Spirit and that their teaching is necessarily God’s will for us. If only the leaders of the ELCA would get back to doing God’s work with their hands by saving the lost and bringing them to the Lord, rather that advocating for the things of this world. 1 Peter 1:24-25, “For, “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.”

Guity as Charged

As Christians we have a Savior that offered Himself and accepted the punishment that we deserve. Those who believe that God sent His one and only Son, to suffer and die for our sins, to descend into hell and on the third day rose to defeat death, receive the grace of God that leads to our salvation and eternal life with the Father. What far too many Christians forget, however, is that we remain guilty as charged. Though we no longer fear the punishment for our sins, we stand convicted, our sentence borne by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Romans 3:19-20, “Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.” And we are truly sinful, disobedient children. There is no one that is righteous and there is no one that deserves the gift of grace offered by our loving Father. Each and every time we dwell in His word, we learn more about our sinful selves. Scripture indeed convicts each one of us, yet that same Scripture lifts us up as it reveals God’s infinite love and abundant mercy for His children.

Galatians 2:17-21, “But suppose we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then we are found guilty because we have abandoned the law. Would that mean Christ has led us into sin? Absolutely not! Rather, I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down. For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God. My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.” We break the law every day, sometimes so frequently, we cannot even keep track of our transgressions. But, even as His disobedient children cause our Father consternation, we receive forgiveness for our sins, through faith in the Risen Christ. Does this mean that grace cancels the law? No, the two are intrinsically linked, for the law allows us to know right from wrong and the Gospel frees us from the consequence of our sin. Even though we are no longer under the punishment of the law, the law remains a guide for God's children to follow. To truly love our Lord means to obey and follow Jesus’ teachings, which includes obedience to the law.

For members of the ELCA, the doctrine of bound conscience means never having to say you’re sorry. It also means that members of the ELCA may believe whatever it is that trips their trigger, because the leaders of the ELCA reach out in their imperfect love and affirm those lost in sin. There is no need for repentance. There is no gratitude for a Savior who spilled His blood so that they may live. There is no guidance from the deceitful leaders of the ELCA to lead their members onto the narrow path that leads to salvation. The false doctrines that the leaders of the ELCA allow have no need of a Savior, because all are saved regardless of faith. Of course, this is not the official teaching of the ELCA, but these teachings are more than simply tolerated, they are given equal time to the teachings of Christ Himself. The doctrine of bound conscience is the lynchpin that all the other heresies accepted by the ELCA are connected. For without a method to allow a variety of beliefs and teachings, some that are contradictory to the very tenets of Christianity, the authority of Scripture could not be challenged, declared invalid in this "enlightened age" and amended by a sinful humanity to feed their selfishness.

Jesus said in Luke 9:23-24, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.” The doctrine of bound conscience allows one to selfishly maintain their sinful nature, denying our Lord and Savior. Is this what Jesus meant to deny himself or does this fit the actions of one who wants to save their own life?  Feeding the selfish nature denies no one but our Savior.  Does this necessarily cause one to lose their salvation? Not in and of itself, but it puts a foot in the door to continue to lift up one’s sinful nature that will eventually push God right out of the picture. As more and more Scripture is decared irrelevant by this misguided church, there will eventually be no need to rein in any of our sinful behavior. Without the law, we devolve into nothing more than intelligent mammals, clothed in our own selfish desires. No matter how hard we try, we continually fall into sin. But, when the sin is willful, deliberate and without repentance, it is displeasing to our God. And every Christian should want to please God first and foremost, denying oneself and carrying His cross, leaving our own desires secondary. Pray unceasingly for the true Gospel of Jesus Christ to be, once again, taught from every pulpit in every church.

Me, Me, Me, I

Pride, one of the seven deadly sins, is actually the basis for all sin. Pride is mentioned 297 times in the Bible, most often in a negative connotation. When pride drives the self, it causes one to have an inflated opinion of one’s importance in the grand scheme of things. Pride, overdone, will eventually lead to vanity where one cannot pass by a mirror without admiring oneself and produces an undue desire to be admired by others, sometimes overwhelming reason. Vanity leads to conceit that manifests itself as an overinflated assessment of one’s status in this world. Then conceit leads one to fall in love with one’s self and suffer from the malady known as egotism. Unfortunately, all of humankind falls into this trap sometime or another. Our selfish human nature compels us to place our needs first. The First Commandment states, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Who then is our god when we decide to worship ourselves, our possessions and our identities? For we certainly worship ourselves when we place ourselves before God.

LGTBQ activists have long advocated for full inclusion in the church. Apparently, acceptance as a child of God, sinful and unclean, like all of God’s children is insufficient. The sin of homosexuality must be accepted as not sinful in order to properly love and welcome this misguided class. Oh, how much easier it would be if God’s church affirmed my misbehavior by decreeing that it is no longer a sin. Too bad it would do nothing to make me right with God. In the Lutheran worship service there is what is known as confession and absolution where we confess our sins and the pastor affirms that God does indeed forgive us. 1 John 1:7-10, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.” When one claims that the sin of homosexuality is no longer a sin, he deceives himself and makes God out to be a liar.

Are those that choose a lifestyle that is prohibited by God any worse than any other child of God? Absolutely not! Just like the rich man that would not follow Jesus because he did not want to give up his wealth, those who selfishly cling to the things of this world fall into the same trap. Each and every one of us commits the gravest of sins every day. Rather than give our God the first of ourselves, our time and our possessions, we selfishly take the first fruits, relegating the leftovers to God. God has given everything to us. Nothing belongs to us, it all belongs to Him. Yet, we cling to the notion that whatever we decide to give to Him is acceptable. Those that tithe simply give 10% to the church. Is that sufficient? “Gracious God, we offer with joy and thanksgiving what you have first given us - ourselves, our time and our possessions - signs of your gracious love." When one invokes their bound conscience to usurp the authority of Scripture, they withhold themselves from God. They do not freely give themselves to Him. They withhold what the selfish nature wishes to retain. When Jesus told the parable about the rich young man, attaining the kingdom of heaven is not only difficult for a rich man to attain, the selfish will also find it difficult to attain.

The leadership of the ELCA has abdicated their responsibility to preach sound doctrine. They look at the world and have become enamored with it. They not only live in the world, they love the world. And this love of the world turns them away from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 1 John 2:15-17, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.”

The pursuit of social justice instead of the pursuit of souls for Christ cements this wayward denomination’s place in this world. No longer is the Gospel of Jesus Christ proclaimed to the world. Now the leadership of the ELCA determines that the love of the neighbor is paramount in their effort to repair our broken world. The gods of tolerance and acceptance are placed upon the altar to be worshipped. What is called sin by God is overruled and affirmed as no longer sinful by the leaders of the ELCA. Romans 6:11-14, “In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.” Offer yourself fully to the Lord. Love Him with all your heart, mind and soul. Love your neighbor as yourself, subservient to our Lord, not above Him.

Faith in the Risen Savior allows God’s grace to cancel your debt to sin. Even though we all fall short, our love and appreciation for what Jesus did for us compels us to please him in all we do. What pleases Him most is our willingness to serve Him with our obedience. The leadership of the ELCA has betrayed their call to serve the Lord. The leadership of the ELCA must reconcile with God in order to lead their membership back to the Lord. Their penchant to falsely affirm sinful behavior only widens the chasm between God and humankind. Pray unceasingly for the leadership of the ELCA to return to the Lord and once again do God’s work by reaching out to save the souls of the lost.

Speak the Truth to Power

This pretentious phrase has become a common expression used by liberal activists, or what they prefer to call themselves, progressives. Truth has little to do with those that utter this contradiction of terms, but it has much to do with power. This catchphrase is simply the excuse used by those on the left to disparage and demean conservative logic, since it is primarily used as a means to end an argument without the benefit of rational debate. The power is simply used to shut off any and all logical argument, especially conservative argument. There is little thought involved in much of the liberal or progressive agenda as, it merely involves vilifying someone or something, or pitting one class against another. We have witnessed the progressive left in politics speak this "truth", aiming their epithets and talking points at their declared enemies, the one percent. Most of these leftists cannot even articulate what it is that they so loudly protest. As a former liberal, I know of what I speak.

Now those who want to help those who have lost their way return to the Lord’s path are in the crosshairs of those they are trying to help. “Progressive” Christians chastise those with the temerity to uphold the authority of Scripture, by invoking this liberal talking point.  Lifting themselves up as tolerant, welcoming and loving they look with contempt at their conservative brothers and sisters in Christ who uphold the authority of Scripture, judging them to be hateful, bigoted and homophobic. They parrot tired and worn out slogans in a vain attempt to justify their selfish and deliberate disregard of God’s will. Rational argument quickly turns to verbal confrontation when those who adhere to traditional or classic Christian theology attempt to “gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth.” 2 Timothy 2:25 Criticisms also appear as comments in local newspapers, in Christian blogs, many by those with no stake in the local issue at hand (see Grace Lutheran in Eau Claire, WI) and in various articles written for the more progressive churches, such as the ELCA.

Progressive Christians continually proclaim that our Lord’s command to love one’s neighbor allows one to ignore that which the Lord prohibits, in order to properly welcome them to our Father’s house. It is simply a false argument that asserts that since God is good everything He has made must also be good. Since God made those with sinful proclivities, they “reason” that those proclivities must also be good.  So, those trapped within that sin are affirmed by declaring that behavior no longer sinful. Affirmation of those with a proclivity to engage in sinful behavior is NOT the way that our Lord taught as a way to properly love and welcome the neighbor.  Leaving a life of sin to love, worship and honor our God is a lesson taught over and over again in Scripture. “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you. Titus 2:11-15

The amoral attitude of those that have the audacity to challenge God’s law simply advocates for man to usurp God’s role as the sole authority in our lives. The leaders of the ELCA lead the faithful over the edge like lemmings in their misguided attempt to normalize that which our God forbids. What the world accepts is of no consequence to our Lord’s command. What His church accepts is another matter altogether. Scripture is the sole authority in our faith lives and any church that would have its members disregard God’s word and replace it with “new things” leads its members away from Him. Jesus has all authority and it is the leaders of God’s church that are called to uphold His word. “After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. “ John 17:1-5

Pray that the leaders of the ELCA abandon their attempt to be of the world.  Continue to pray that those true to the Lord recognize the truth and walk away from the apostasy of the ELCA.

Convicted

Serving 29 years as a police officer, I certainly made my share of arrests. Most of the criminals arrested were eventually convicted of the crimes they committed, some of them serving lengthy sentences. But, not all of the criminals arrested had to face the charges that were requested by police. Occasionally the charges were reduced to a lesser crime by the District Attorney, dismissed or diverted to a program, such as a first time offender. Those that were charged went on to further court proceedings. Prior to trial, defense attorneys, on behalf of their clients, agreed to various plea bargains often leading to guilty pleas in exchange for less serious charges, a decrease in the District Attorney’s sentence recommendation, or reduced fines. A particularly good defense attorney would take the case to trial and sometimes succeed in having their client exonerated.

As a sinful humanity we are charged with the crime of failing to place our God as foremost in our lives. We continually place our own wants ahead of God’s will for us. We put ourselves in authority of our lives and relegate our Savior to an afterthought. We place our human reasoning, knowledge and experience before the authority of Scripture. Humanity continues to want it their way, ignoring our God’s will and law. As a fallen humanity, we stand convicted by our actions and failures to act on behalf of our God. We commit the gravest crime of all, placing ourselves, our time and our possessions ahead of our God. Placing God secondary to our needs, is nothing more than the worship of ourselves, our identities and our accomplishments. Luke 9:23-25, Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?”

Ever since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, humankind has tried and failed in its’ effort to reconcile with God. Problem is, that humankind insists upon making these attempts without our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Humankind has failed miserably in its’ attempt to obey His law and live a godly life. God’s church has often been more than disastrous in its’ efforts to lead humankind back to God. Even the most enlightened of Biblical scholars fail when they insist upon using human understanding, experience and tradition to try to determine God’s will. As much as we would like to follow in Christ’s footsteps, we more often trip all over ourselves, falling into the traps set by the evil one. We have seen what happens when misguided organizations like the ELCA, UCC and Episcopal Churches, decide to author their own version of Scripture. We see how far man can fall when tolerance, welcoming and social justice supercedes the command to love our God with all our heart, with all our minds, with all our soul and with all our strength. Romans 1:21-27, “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. “ Once we rely upon our own understanding, celebrating our intelligence and insight, we demonstrate just how foolish we truly are.

But, even though we are criminals before our God, charged and convicted of the gravest of sins, we have Jesus Christ as our advocate. Because He took the punishment that we justly deserved, we are exonerated of our crimes against our God. Jesus makes certain that believer’s names are prominently written in the Book of Life so that our salvation is secure. 1 John 2:1-2, “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” When we truly believe, we have the best defense attorney that not only argues on our behalf, but has already suffered the consequences of our sin.

There are brothers and sisters in Christ that are being led down the path of destruction. The leaders of the ELCA, UCC and Episcopal churches would have them believe a gospel other than the one our Lord and Savior taught. These brothers and sisters must have their hearts and minds opened to the truth. It is our responsibility to expose the heresies of these errant churches, so that none of God’s children, who have accepted His truth, fall away. Pray unceasingly for those trapped in these churches that embrace apostasy, to be brought back to the safety of the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Owning Up

As a child, my parents stressed that if did something wrong, I needed to own up to that mistake by admitting what I had done. If I decided to lie or attempt to minimize my participation in whatever shenanigans I was involved in, I only made matters worse and my punishment was much more severe than if I just owned up to what I had done. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. There is good reason that the leadership of the ELCA has made confession and absolution optional for member churches. For without confession, there is no need to acknowledge one’s failings before the Lord. Without our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, we are nothing. We can accomplish nothing without the guidance of our Savior. Without first being filled with the Holy Spirit, we cannot even believe and accept the grace that God offers His children. For the leaders of the ELCA, it is more important that everyone’s personal identity is respected and accepted in order to welcome and properly love the neighbor. In order to make certain that the neighbor is not ashamed of their sin and does not feel unwanted, the ELCA enacts doctrine to officially accept that behavior as no longer sinful. So when a neighbor makes a conscious and deliberate decision to remain in sin, denying our Lord and Savior to placate his or her worldly desires, this errant denomination reaches out in their imperfect love and amends God’s law.

1 Peter 1:22-25, “Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.” The leadership of the ELCA has abandoned the Truth by their deliberate and calculated disobedience. They do not own up to the fact that man is by nature sinful and left to himself is capable of all kinds of evil. The leaders of the ELCA stoke the flames of disobedience by enacting doctrine to allow one to engage in sin without remorse or need to acknowledge their sinful nature. Now, sin is not simply the act of disobeying the Lord. It is when we place ourselves first in our relationship with Christ that we begin to fall into sin. All humans are imperfect beings that fall far short of the glory of our God, and some of us are more imperfect than others. (Put the writer of this blog in the latter category) When we attempt to use our imperfect love as an excuse to disobey our God, then we commit the gravest sin of all, we place ourselves upon the altar and worship ourselves, our intellect and our identities.

Colossians 2:8, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.” The leaders of the ELCA hold their membership captive through the hollow and deceptive philosophy known as the doctrine of bound conscience. Far too many accept this false doctrine, believing that it allows them to better love their neighbor. It does nothing of the sort. Acceptance of the doctrine of bound conscience allows one to relegate our Lord to an afterthought, placing their own imperfect love as the cornerstone of their faith. How insidious it is for the evil one to use love as the temptation for man to place himself above God! And make no mistake. The leaders of the ELCA may believe that God is telling them new things, but these new things are whispers and murmurs spoken to them by the very prince of darkness. By urging their members to disregard Scripture, they are simply doing the evil one’s bidding. How sad for these enlightened elites. As the leaders of the ELCA fall all over themselves promoting the things of this world in an effort to repair our broken world, their emphasis on social justice actually divides and the false gospels they teach drive the faithful away from God.

Colossians 2:6-7, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Dwell in His word. Keep the faith as you were taught, thanking God for every blessing. Continue in prayer that those trapped in the ELCA may be delivered from the clutches of the evil one.

Always a Bridesmaid

The old adage of always a bridesmaid, never a bride, refers to that selfless woman that is always hard at work to make everyone else’s life complete. Always fussing about to make sure everything is in place, serving others first, often to the point of placing her own needs secondary to others. She is never the most important person in any situation, always deferring to someone else. So it is with those who accept Christ and turn their lives over to Him. One’s own needs become secondary when it becomes more important to please our Lord and Savior. Filled with the love of Christ, one places Him above all else. Ephesians 5:1-5, “Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people. Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God. You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God. For a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.”

The primary benefactor of greed is one’s self. Where would we be if our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ placed His needs above ours? What if Jesus decided that we were not worth dying a death on the cross? What if He decided that it was more important that He bypass the suffering and be lifted up into heaven and safety? For He could have with a word, call down angels that would have prevented any harm befalling Him. But no, He humbly took on the form of a human being, experiencing all the pain and suffering meant for a selfish, sinful humanity. He died for us so that we may live. And this is a life eternal in paradise. Our salvation, the gift of grace from our Father in heaven. What is required of us to gain this wonderful gift of salvation? Faith in the living Christ. Belief that my Savior, God’s own Son, took upon Himself all of my sin, suffered the just punishment that I deserve, died and rose to life, defeating death and opening the door for all who believe to defeat death and live eternally with our Father in heaven.

This is such a small price to pay for such a wonderful gift. We die to our former selfish lives and are reborn to be a child of God. But, being a bridesmaid is not acceptable to all. The enlightened leaders of the ELCA, by invoking the doctrine of bound conscience, bow to no one. Deny yourself, well how can a loving God prohibit the things of this world that we selfishly desire. Don’t tell me that I can’t do as I please and that there are consequences to my actions. Self-esteem is paramount to this misguided denomination. Self-identity is so very important, more important than our identities as Disciples of Christ. What God prohibits, this denomination selfishly proclaims acceptable so that no one needs to deny oneself! Place God first in our lives? A loving God would never demand that. For the ELCA, the children make the rules and tell their Father what they want, not the other way around. And yet there are those, when this false doctrine is challenged, that choose to stand up for a church and thereby deny God’s authority. The church is nothing without Jesus Christ, and the ELCA is swiftly leading their flock away from Him.

In Matthew 8:34-38, Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.” Humble yourself and place Christ first in your life and you will be justly rewarded. Accept the false doctrine peddled by the leaders of the ELCA, and you will find that you are ashamed of Him and His words. Continue in prayer for those trapped within the ELCA to have their hearts and minds opened to the Truth that is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Fear and Envy

In 2008, Barak Obama was swept into office as our 44th president, riding on the wave of hope and change. As he faces a difficult reelection, he has resorted to preaching a doctrine of fear and envy, pitting classes against one another and promoting racial strife. His policies attack the very foundations of Christianity, in one instance, forcing the Catholic Church to provide abortion coverage to employees, a direct assault on the doctrine of their faith. Progressive churches, such as the ELCA, continue to worship this president and support this attack on Christianity by their silence. Perhaps, this is due to the fact that the ELCA offers “reproductive services” that include coverage for elective abortions in their employee health insurance plan. The murder of the unborn does not bother the enlightened leaders of the most wayward of the “mainstream” Lutheran churches. Mention advocating for the LGTBQ community or immigration reform and ELCA leaders stand right up and jump into the fray. Murdering unborn human beings is defended as a woman’s right to choose while the leaders of the ELCA ignore any responsibility to protect the lives of those who cannot protect themselves.

Deuteronomy 6:13-15, “Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land.” No longer is the fear of God important in the teachings of the ELCA. Other gods are accepted and other religions are acknowledged as offering a valid path to salvation. Of course, this is not the official teaching of this apostate church, but is becoming increasingly acceptable in numerous ELCA churches. The ELCA also welcomes those that teach a gospel other than our Lord taught, inviting controversial teachers to speak at many events, including their national youth gathering. Why not begin with the indoctrination of the young to emphasize these errant teachings in order to fundamentally change the face of Christianity?

Envious of the peace and tranquility of the State of Israel, the leaders of the ELCA advocate for the sworn enemies of Christians and Jews alike, the Arab State of Palestine. They encourage the terrorist organization Hamas, decrying Israel as a villain when they attempt to build housing communities on Israeli land. As rockets rain upon Israel, targeting innocent civilians, the leaders of the ELCA choose to ignore these acts of war, instead accusing Israel of committing atrocities when they retaliate, even while Israel shows remarkable restraint. The leadership of the United States, Israel’s one and only ally, stands idly by as Iran works feverishly to produce nuclear weapons, with the stated intent of eradicating Israel and the “Great Satan”, as they refer to the United States.

Christianity is under assault, not only by the secular elites, but by our own government. The Department of Justice continues to broaden its’ interpretation and enforcement of the separation of church and state. Student’s personal Bibles are confiscated at public schools, while implements of Islam are embraced and welcomed. Christian prayer is challenged in the courts while Muslims are allowed to leave their jobs and answer their five daily calls to prayer, citing somehow this will serve to foster tolerance. Any other religion is not only tolerated, but welcomed, while Christians are shouted down and looked upon as backward and uninformed. Daniel 8:23-25, “In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a stern-faced king, a master of intrigue, will arise. He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the mighty men and the holy people. He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power.” This interpretation of one of Daniel’s visions rings eerily pertinent to today. Yet the leaders of the ELCA call Scripture outmoded and irrelevant to today’s society and work overtime to rewrite God’s word.

The leaders of the ELCA, in league with the government, use fear in an effort to destroy those that have the audacity to uphold the authority of Scripture. Churches undergoing the process of breaking fellowship are now being assailed in the courts by the leadership of the ELCA. Since the ELCA is so invested in this secular world, why wouldn’t they avail themselves of the tools of the state by bringing lawsuits against churches that have the nerve to want to break fellowship. As we turn the other cheek, those seeking to diminish the influence of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, strike again and again. Michelle Obama compares her husband to Jesus Christ, proclaiming that he has brought us out of the dark and into the light. There is no light where there is no truth. As this President continually pits our citizens against one another, with lie after lie, leaders of God’s church join in, signing on to documents such as the Dream Act and accepting positions on presidential committees that only legitimize attacks on the very truths they are charged to uphold. 2 Corinthians 11:13-15, “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.” Proclaim His truth until all have heard and believe! Dwell in God’s word and remain in the light. Shine bright with the light of Jesus Christ and expose the darkness that fills our world.