Captive to Sin

While progressive churches are engaged in a headlong rush to minimize or even eliminate sin, those of us who choose to worship in more traditional denominations, confession of our sins and the affirmation of God’s forgiveness is an important part of the liturgy. Yes, by faith alone we are granted forgiveness, but for us ever sinful Christians, it is a comfort to have God’s grace confirmed in our worship services. We are sinful human beings, held captive by our sinful desires. We cannot escape from the bottomless pit of sin without our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Try as we may to obey God’s law, we fail over and over again. I was reminded of my own shortcomings as a Christian by a non-Christian friend who pointed out that I was not always a very good example of a Christian. I agreed, and told him that is why I need a Savior. My true nature condemns me, but through faith in Christ’s death and resurrection, even someone as unworthy as I am, is saved.

Many non-Christians and Christians alike, believe that being a Disciple of Christ simply means obeying the law, or, as some would say, the rules that God has imposed upon humanity to keep us in line. Many non-Christians are offended by what they consider “unfair” rules enforced by an unjust God. Believers are often looked upon as fancying themselves as belonging to an exclusive club that they believe grants them special dispensation. Yet, Christians, far too often, fall into the trap of judgmentalism, lashing out against rule breakers. I’ve often told my kids, my grandchildren and even suspects that I was questioning in my former life as a police officer, “It’s bad enough that you made a mistake. Don’t make it worse by lying about it, blaming others and/or failing to take responsibility for your actions.” We all fall into sin, over and over, and we only make matters worse for ourselves when we ignore our inadequacies by pointing out our neighbor's failings. We “good Christians” cast out our most pronounced accusations upon our neighbors that engage in the sin of homosexuality. We are quick to point out the error of the person that succumbs to desires that God forbids. And yes, God makes it plain in His Word that homosexuality is forbidden.

Jesus said that the second most important commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. Do you hate yourself when you act on desires forbidden by God, and fall into sin? Yet, we often fixate on our neighbors that succumb to their desires and engage in homosexual behavior. It’s a tangled web we weave. On one hand, as believers, we really should know better and the trap of sin should be apparent and easy to avoid. Unfortunately, this is far from reality. 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!” When the Apostle Paul, chosen to continue His ministry by Christ Himself, continually falls prey to his sinful nature, how can we call out our neighbor while we sin so boldly?

This is not to say that we are to acquiesce to sinful behavior by our neighbor. When our neighbor does not know Christ, it is our duty as disciples of Christ to lead that person to Him. Condemning our neighbors that engage in behavior that God prohibits will likely lead those neighbors away from God and if they do decide to try and find God they will likely fall into the hands of apostasy driven churches like the ELCA. We need to plant the seed that the Holy Spirit can nurture and grow in order for our neighbor to become part of the body of Christ. Once the love of Christ fills their hearts, they will come to realize what is pleasing to God. Our witness need not be by proselytizing, we can show the love of Christ in our actions towards our neighbor, and being openly critical of their behavior is not acting in love. The law is written upon the hearts of believers and non-believers alike, but if one does not know God, the Holy Spirit does not fill their hearts. Without the Holy Spirit, one cannot come to faith. If our actions only harden the hearts of our neighbor, we fail in the most important aspect of discipleship. For the believer, it is clear that God prohibits homosexuality. For the believer, it is clear that in order to please God the believer must not fall prey to that behavior. For the believer, it is clear that it is God's responsibility to judge the actions of humankind. If God can love me in spite of my continual disobedience, I can love my neighbor in spite of their faults.  A Church of God in Milwaukee boldly proclaims in a large neon sign on their front door, ALL SINNERS ARE WELCOME! That church is welcoming without disregarding the fact that we all are sinners that fall short of the glory of God.

When our brothers and sisters in Christ, those who already know Christ, fall back to the ways of the world by willfully choosing to accept false doctrine, they must be led back to the path of righteousness. After all, it is worse for one to come to the Lord and then fall back to the ways of the world. 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 are 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." We must endeavor to correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction. Our needs are to be secondary to our desire to please our Lord and Savior. Pleasing God entails following God’s will and acknowledging our innate selfishness. Prioritizing the fulfillment of human desires causes us to fall into disobedience. Sin may be pleasurable to the flesh, but it harms our relationship with God.

When a church decides to affirm sin, without repentance, it is no longer a Christian church. The leaders of the ELCA wag their collective finger at God and tell Him (or her in some of their churches) that they know better. The ELCA has abdicated its’ responsibility bring the lost to Christ and help them to travel on the path of righteousness. No one is righteous, as we all fall short, but as John wrote in 1 John 1:8-10, “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 is not in us.”

The leadership of the ELCA promotes doctrine that claims that sin is no longer sinful, deceiving their membership. The truth is not in them. Confession of sin is replaced with the affirmation of sin by this wayward denomination. The leaders of the ELCA proclaim that God is a liar as they try to rewrite His word to placate the world, rather than to bring His word to the world. His word is not in them. Continue to proclaim the truth and pray that our brothers and sisters adrift in the apostasy that is the ELCA will truly open their hearts and minds and return to the Lord. Reach out to our neighbor with the love of Christ and pray that more will come to know Him.

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.

Lowest Common Denominator

In mathematics the lowest common denominator is the least common multiple of the denominators of a set of vulgar fractions. Ie; 4/16 divide each number by the lowest common denominator, 4 and you come up with 1/4. Use the smallest positive integer that is a multiple of each denominator in the set. This term has entered popular culture and now denotes the least sophisticated person(s) in a particular situation. The term is often used as a figure of speech indicating the most basic, least sophisticated level of taste, sensibility, or opinion among a group of people. Most reality TV shows tend to appeal to the lowest common denominators among us. If you tend to gravitate to “Honey Boo”, “Jersey Shore” or the “Kardashians”, you just may fit into the category of lowbrow, uncultured, or low information individuals looked down upon and considered to be on the fringe of society.

Of our own accord, many of us would stoop to our lowest common denominator and sit for hours and watch “Dancing with the Stars” instead of taking time with our God in prayer or meditation on His word. ELCA teachings step away from the words of our God and decide that, “the times, they are a’ changin’” and tweak the words our God decided were the best path for His children to take. Our more enlightened friends that lead the apostate ELCA decide to modernize God’s word and contrive all sorts of “new things” that they believe that God must have really meant in that “book of faith stories”. Take Christ out of Christianity and we engage in doctrine that lifts up the true selfish nature of humanity. Christ died for all humanity, so why not neglect to emphasize that faith in the Risen Christ is necessary to gain salvation. It’s hard to deny oneself and so demeaning to admit to our selfish and sinful nature. Think that the producer of “Noah” took creative license with the story of the flood, think again. These supposed men and women of God have, with the stroke of a pen and the vote of a fallen humanity, attempted to change God’s will forever. Jesus said in Matthew 5:17-19, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

Disobedience is so easy. We are all rule breakers at heart. We expect the leaders of God’s church to preach the pure Gospel, as it is stated in God’s word, the Bible. Having the very persons charged to uphold sound doctrine, contrive ways around our Lord and Savior’s teaching is beyond the pale. We do quite a fine job of finding ways to displease our God all by ourselves, we don’t need the church affirming us within our sin. But, Luther himself said to sin boldly, so what is the problem? He also said that we are at once, both saint and sinner. In other words, we remain a sinful humanity that continually falls short of the glory of God. We need to recognize our sinful nature and how easily we fall into disobedience. We need to recognize that we need a Savior, because we can never earn the grace that is so freely bestowed upon us. We need to recognize that, because of our faith in the Risen Christ, we are forgiven. What the leaders of the ELCA fail to understand is that, if there is no sin, there is no need for forgiveness. If there is no need for forgiveness there is no need for a Savior. If there is no need for a Savior, there is no need to attend a church that is welcoming, tolerant and affirming of sinful behavior.

More of Luther’s letter to Melanchthon. “Be a sinner, and let your sins be strong (sin boldly), 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.” The false gospel of tolerance and affirmation trivializes Christ sacrifice upon the cross. Essays published in the “Lutheran” magazine and what is being taught in ELCA seminaries attest to the fact that the leaders of the ELCA are deliberately fomenting a revolution against sound Lutheran doctrine and the authority of Scripture. This battle against God is extraordinarily insidious as the ELCA promotes all sorts of unsound theology at its’ seminaries and then persecutes and silences any and all seminarians that resist its’ false teachings. Bound conscience is truly a one way street, contrived to silence any opposing, traditional voices.

Our brothers and sisters in Christ adrift in ELCA churches need to wake up and smell the roses. They are being led onto a path towards destruction. Accepting the false doctrine of bound conscience is tantamount to worshiping themselves. Believe what the snake oil peddler is selling and you will fall to your lowest common denominator, the sinful human being lavishing even more sinful behavior upon yourself, secure in the fact that your church says that it is okay. Pray long and hard for our brothers and sisters to realize that fact before it is too late.

Create in Me

Realizing that we are by nature sinful and unclean, one of the traditional hymns that addresses our need for God's forgiveness, is taken from Psalm 51:10-12, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.” By incorporating various ELCA quotes (see; Her Church, the mother god's prayer, the worship of self and the affirmation of sinful behavior), extrapolating from current ELCA doctrinal shifts and emphasis on social justice, a hypothetical ELCA version of the hymn may go something like this;

“Create in me an enlightened mind O Mother God, and uphold the power and courage within me. Cast me not away from the presence of secular ambitions and take not away my selfish desires. Restore unto me the joy of self esteem and affirm me within my sinful behavior.”

What is truly unfortunate, is that these words are actually derived from ceremonies, writings and churches that have the approval of the ELCA.  They welcome heretical teachings and proclaim them as a new and diverse opinion appropriate to their doctrine of open dialogue. The leadership of the ELCA promotes this type of discourse as a means to add to and strengthen their misguided denomination. This fits right in with the gospel of affirmation that is promoted by the leaders and Biblical scholars of the ELCA. Too many of our brothers and sisters in Christ deceived by these false teachings, have mistakenly accepted errant doctrine believing that they will be more welcoming, tolerant and loving of their neighbor. Those that fall prey will find that to accept this false gospel will require that they disregard our Lord’s commands. God’s word will be folded, stapled and mutilated in an effort to expand this “Big Tent” denomination that only desires to quench the cravings of a sinful humanity.

Where the Christian realizes that our sinful behavior directs us away from our God’s presence, the leaders of the ELCA promote that all are affirmed within their sin. The truth is that we need our God to cleanse us from our sin and to have the Holy Spirit lead us back toward righteousness. As Christians we want to remain within the radiance of our Father in Heaven and be filled with His Spirit. Having our God re-confirm His covenant so that we can revel in the promise of eternal life with a willing and serving spirit is what all Christians truly espouse. For those that lead the ELCA and promote radical doctrinal change, this appears far from their goal. It seems that the leadership of the ELCA advocates the elevation of human reasoning and understanding or what they promote as "bound conscience" as the pinnacle of religious enlightenment. By placing themselves in authority of Scripture, they imply that God does not fully understand how progressive this new age denomination has become. They repudiate the method that our Lord used to teach us how to pray and cast doubt upon the very truths that have guided the Christian faith for centuries.

Hebrews 10:19-25, “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” We must accept and embrace all the truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to maintain our faith against all temptation and opposition. The Evil one will continually attempt to test our faith, but we must hold to God’s Truth resolutely, without doubt and remain strong in our faith in the Risen Savior. Accepting doctrine that challenges the authority of Scripture and tends to cause one to “dive into the pool of heresy” only leads toward apostasy. God, who is faithful and just, will forgive our sins if only we ask for His forgiveness. God’s promise of grace to those who believe is the truth that leads to our salvation. Titus 2:1, “You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine.” A false promise by a misguided church to affirm those engaging in sin without the requirement of repentance, offer nothing but a lie that leads their members away from God and toward spiritual destruction.