“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.
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Punching Your Ticket
An article entitled, “Drifting toward universalism?” from the April 2014 Lutheran Core Connection by Pastor Don Brandt, really demonstrates just how far some in the ELCA have fallen. In the article, Pastor Brandt cites an essay written by Peter Marty, entitled “Who Gets Saved”, published in the March 2014 edition of The Lutheran. Marty is an ELCA pastor from Iowa and a regular contributor to the Lutheran, but based on the content of his essay, his words actually hinder the Kingdom of God. It is sad enough that so many in the secular world do their best to persecute and demean Christianity, but Marty does as much or more harm to the faith as any member of the Freedom from Religion Society. Lutherans are typically very good at finger pointing and getting stuck in the law. Far too many of us fall into the trap of charging those who disobey God’s law as sinners, unfit to gain salvation. But, Marty revels in his accusations, rather than pointing to the proper way to behave as a Christian, celebrating his harmful words that chastise Christians and demean the faith he has been charged to uphold.
Marty wants credit for any use of his words. So be it. I hope he is proud. I hope he properly appreciates the controversy his words have prompted. I hope he asks God for forgiveness for his disregard of the promise he made when he pledged to preach the pure Gospel of Jesus Christ and endeavor to lead the lost to Him. Marty seems to exude a gleeful defiance as he chides those Christians that he claims believe that they belong to an exclusive club and hold tickets to that velvet roped VIP section in heaven. While the leaders of the ELCA preach unity, Marty elects to use words that divide. As with most essays penned by the learned clergy of the wayward ELCA, it is littered with words that appear to be so right. Believers do have responsibility to testify to help others know God’s love is for all. After all, God does love all of His children unconditionally. Unreturned love is another matter. If someone is born in India, it is the Christian’s responsibility to bring the Gospel to them, so that through the power of the Holy Spirit, they may come to belief in the Risen Christ. Sorry Marty, it does matter whether or not we believe. Just because the ELCA neglects our Lord and Savior’s call to reach the lost, instead relying upon their doctrine of accompaniment, or the more literal translation “we’ve already done enough evangelizing in the world”, does not relieve you of that responsibility.
Yes, we Christians that believe in the authority of Scripture often do get it wrong. Yes, we often place far too much emphasis on the law and neglect the fact that it is all about the saving grace granted to us through the sacrifice of our Risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. How about an essay about forgiveness, that since we have received the ultimate gift of absolute forgiveness, we should endeavor to learn to share forgiveness more freely? It certainly is easy to sidle up to those progressive “Christians” that reinterpret Scripture to better co-exist with our modern, secular society. After all, they host the better parties. Accolades by the secular elite apparently carry much more weight and secure the instant gratification, especially when it entails disparaging those knuckle dragging Bible thumpers. Pleasing God is not often accompanied by such an immediate response.
Then there is the idea that Christ is not held bound by any religion. Christ is there for everyone. One only needs to open their heart and allow the Holy Spirit to enter. Only then can we come to believe. No, Christ is not bound to any religion, we are bound to Him. Without belief in the Risen Christ there will be no salvation. Jesus said in John 14:6-7, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” Not much to challenge in that statement. If someone is born on the other side of the world to a family that does not know Christ, it is our responsibility to witness to him or her. It is our responsibility to make disciples of all nations. Neglecting our duty to God in this matter only shows that we are ashamed of Him. Jesus said in Luke 9:23-26, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” No, this was not said at a theological summit, but trust me, through His words it is certain that my God, Jesus Christ, is better than your god! Our faith begins at the cross and is fulfilled at the empty tomb with Jesus’ resurrection. Without our Risen Savior, there is nothing but a broken humanity on the outside looking in.
It is all well and good to rile up the faithful with heretical statements and it may please the secular elites, but it does nothing to promote God’s Kingdom. Marty casts his accusatory rhetoric at fellow Christians, all the while patting himself on the back for his supposed open-mindedness in bestowing grace upon the world. Marty, I don’t think it’s up to you to make that decision. Just sayin’. Seems to me that if our Lord and Savior said that there is but one way to gain salvation, that is good enough for me. It should be noted that while some of us “inerrancy folk” are accused of taking Scripture out of context, Marty simply cites verses he imagines that bolster his claims. Marty cites John 3:16 as evidence that Jesus is universal Lord and Savior, he neglects to place that verse in the full context as Christ was quoted. John 3:16-21, “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 they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.”
Marty infers that Christians receive a club access card because we uttered a specific theological formula about Jesus and that by virtue of our faith believe that we have a privileged access to God. This is simply a false narrative. He uses this conspiracy theory to bolster his idea of an ideal religion, not the faith that our God intends. Yes, we all need to be filled with the Gospel every day. Yes, we need to remember that is not about us and all about Him. Yes, we need to forgive as He first forgave us. We are a broken humanity that needs Christ to fill our empty and sinful hearts. Knowing this is a good start to live in a manner that pleases God. The verdict is in, Christ does want to gather ALL people to Himself and it is our responsibility to lead them to Him. It is time to leave the chastising of those who believe and respect the authority of Scripture to those influenced by the evil one.
Marty wants credit for any use of his words. So be it. I hope he is proud. I hope he properly appreciates the controversy his words have prompted. I hope he asks God for forgiveness for his disregard of the promise he made when he pledged to preach the pure Gospel of Jesus Christ and endeavor to lead the lost to Him. Marty seems to exude a gleeful defiance as he chides those Christians that he claims believe that they belong to an exclusive club and hold tickets to that velvet roped VIP section in heaven. While the leaders of the ELCA preach unity, Marty elects to use words that divide. As with most essays penned by the learned clergy of the wayward ELCA, it is littered with words that appear to be so right. Believers do have responsibility to testify to help others know God’s love is for all. After all, God does love all of His children unconditionally. Unreturned love is another matter. If someone is born in India, it is the Christian’s responsibility to bring the Gospel to them, so that through the power of the Holy Spirit, they may come to belief in the Risen Christ. Sorry Marty, it does matter whether or not we believe. Just because the ELCA neglects our Lord and Savior’s call to reach the lost, instead relying upon their doctrine of accompaniment, or the more literal translation “we’ve already done enough evangelizing in the world”, does not relieve you of that responsibility.
Yes, we Christians that believe in the authority of Scripture often do get it wrong. Yes, we often place far too much emphasis on the law and neglect the fact that it is all about the saving grace granted to us through the sacrifice of our Risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. How about an essay about forgiveness, that since we have received the ultimate gift of absolute forgiveness, we should endeavor to learn to share forgiveness more freely? It certainly is easy to sidle up to those progressive “Christians” that reinterpret Scripture to better co-exist with our modern, secular society. After all, they host the better parties. Accolades by the secular elite apparently carry much more weight and secure the instant gratification, especially when it entails disparaging those knuckle dragging Bible thumpers. Pleasing God is not often accompanied by such an immediate response.
Then there is the idea that Christ is not held bound by any religion. Christ is there for everyone. One only needs to open their heart and allow the Holy Spirit to enter. Only then can we come to believe. No, Christ is not bound to any religion, we are bound to Him. Without belief in the Risen Christ there will be no salvation. Jesus said in John 14:6-7, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” Not much to challenge in that statement. If someone is born on the other side of the world to a family that does not know Christ, it is our responsibility to witness to him or her. It is our responsibility to make disciples of all nations. Neglecting our duty to God in this matter only shows that we are ashamed of Him. Jesus said in Luke 9:23-26, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” No, this was not said at a theological summit, but trust me, through His words it is certain that my God, Jesus Christ, is better than your god! Our faith begins at the cross and is fulfilled at the empty tomb with Jesus’ resurrection. Without our Risen Savior, there is nothing but a broken humanity on the outside looking in.
It is all well and good to rile up the faithful with heretical statements and it may please the secular elites, but it does nothing to promote God’s Kingdom. Marty casts his accusatory rhetoric at fellow Christians, all the while patting himself on the back for his supposed open-mindedness in bestowing grace upon the world. Marty, I don’t think it’s up to you to make that decision. Just sayin’. Seems to me that if our Lord and Savior said that there is but one way to gain salvation, that is good enough for me. It should be noted that while some of us “inerrancy folk” are accused of taking Scripture out of context, Marty simply cites verses he imagines that bolster his claims. Marty cites John 3:16 as evidence that Jesus is universal Lord and Savior, he neglects to place that verse in the full context as Christ was quoted. John 3:16-21, “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 they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.”
Marty infers that Christians receive a club access card because we uttered a specific theological formula about Jesus and that by virtue of our faith believe that we have a privileged access to God. This is simply a false narrative. He uses this conspiracy theory to bolster his idea of an ideal religion, not the faith that our God intends. Yes, we all need to be filled with the Gospel every day. Yes, we need to remember that is not about us and all about Him. Yes, we need to forgive as He first forgave us. We are a broken humanity that needs Christ to fill our empty and sinful hearts. Knowing this is a good start to live in a manner that pleases God. The verdict is in, Christ does want to gather ALL people to Himself and it is our responsibility to lead them to Him. It is time to leave the chastising of those who believe and respect the authority of Scripture to those influenced by the evil one.
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