Homepage Message: September 2009
If you have followed the ELCA convention proceedings at all, you will see the Lutheran church has been hijacked by “men who have secretly slipped in among you. They are Godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only sovereign and Lord.” —Jude 4
We rejoice in our savior’s death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sin. There is no greater news than to know God’s complete forgiveness and loving acceptance. No matter your sin, your offense or the magnitude of your guilt there is forgiveness through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
However, forgiveness and freedom from guilt requires an individual to admit sin and repent, that is, to turn from sin and seek God. Do we know what sin is that we may repent? We begin with the Ten Commandments and continue with all of scripture. For example: stealing, adultery, usury, pride, using God’s name in vain and so on. These are contrary to our Lord’s will and holiness.
If we don’t want to give up a particular sin then one way to keep sin and Christ is to explain a specific sin away. We could say stealing isn’t always wrong if it is done with loving and pure motives, such as to feed my family, or to help the less fortunate. If you made a case for this line of reasoning long enough people will come to believe it, and practice it. In order to keep oneself form believing such a lie, one would have to know the truth about stealing. Where might that be? It would be the Bible, God’s revealed word, the seventh commandment.
The ELCA has been teaching through its practices, though unofficial, that homosexual behavior is not called a sin in scripture. They have been working at this for at least 30 years and now enough people have come to believe it and voted to allow ‘monogamous’ homosexuals to be ordained. This is simply calling sin good and good evil.
Regarding the last days in which we currently live, Paul writes to a church the following:
“The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.” —II Thessalonians 2:9-10
What is the truth, but the special revelation of God from the very first verse to the very last. When one refuses to believe the truth of God a time eventually comes when:
“For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.” —II Thessalonians 2:11-12
Many today believe a lie that deviant sexual behavior or orientation is actually accepted by God. Nothing could be farther from the truth. We are in no position to change the inerrant word of God; we can only believe and obey it or reject it.
“In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.” —Jude 1:7 (Genesis 19:1-29)
Another truth is that God loves every sinner and wants them to come to Him in repentance; the adulterer, the liar, the homosexual, the murderer—all of us—since we are all sinners in need of God’s grace and forgiveness. We are not against the homosexual, just against calling sin, righteousness.
This is indeed a very sad day for the ELCA who claims to know truth but is ensnared by the sin they celebrate as righteousness. They should no longer bear the name Lutheran much less evangelical. Any one who stands opposed to this sin would do well to flee for your spiritual lives and that of your children. God have mercy!
Pilot Knob Lutheran Church and the AALC will not compromise the true and inerrant word of God. We strive to build our lives upon it as we worship our Savior in spirit and in truth.
If you are hungering for God’s divine truth, read His word and come worship with us.