Saturday, August 22, 2009

The worst decision at the ELCA assembly wasn't the homosexual votes...

Another great article from Rev. Paul McCain. Is there a bigger issue than the homosexual vote? Probably when a church joins another that doesn't believe in very basic things that are Scriptural (real presence, baptismal regeneration, etc). Here is his article on facebook...


Obviously, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s decisions about gay clergy are getting most of the attention from the media, and apparently from most Lutherans, but the worst decision The ELCA has made this week is the decision to enter into full communion with the Methodists. It is easy to express our “outrage” over the homosexual decision, but in fact, the greater error is the declaration of altar/pulpit fellowship with the United Methodist Church. This is even more symptomatic of a theological system that is sick unto death.It would be tempting for those who are not in the ELCA church to assume a posture of, “We told them so!” and “Thank God we are not like those kind of Lutherans.” But if we take that attitude we are disregarding God’s Word which warns us all: Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. (Read all of 1 Corinthians 10:1-13)On a previous post, Dr. Holger Sonntag offered these very important observations in a comment and I post them here:Great. Thank you, Paul! Finally somebody says something about the ELCA-UMC fellowship. If you look at the vote that made this deal a reality (958-51), one is amazed: there are apparently a bunch of people in the ELCA (and at this year’s churchwide assembly) who have a problem with homosexual pastors (559-451), and I salute them for it. But how few people seem to care, e.g., about the vast difference in the understanding of the Lord’s Supper (THE gospel, as we’re always told) between genuine Lutheranism and Methodism? Years of flawed catechesis, where even the “conservatives” had adopted the “Leuenberg” Position that brought “peace” between Lutherans and Reformed (”personal presence of Christ”; exact “mode” of presence not really important), have done this to this church body. That’s even sadder, in my opinion. You can see Hermann Sasse (and Luther and Paul Gerhardt) turning in his grave now even faster…I can’t really grasp why so many conservative, confessional Lutherans get fired up about a law-issue like homosexuality, but so few mention the Methodist-agreement. Now, don’t get me wrong: I recognize that God’s law is important, that it’s unchanging, and that it calls homosexuality, in whatever “social context” it may be practiced, a sin. End of story. Sinners need not be provided by the church with excuses and explanations for their condition and actions. Sinners need to be called to confess their sins.And then they need to be called — to what? To the gospel! Tampering with the law is bad, and perhaps it’s done because you don’t believe the gospel anymore, that there could be full and free forgiveness even for the “bad” homosexual, like for every other sinner like you and me.In other words, as I already remarked over at “The Brothers of John the Steadfast,” I’m concerned that our “outrage” that’s again focused mainly on the homosexual issue is regrettably less than Lutheran and, in fact, quite “moralistic.” We’d expect this from Evangelicals, but Evangelical Lutherans should know better: we distinguish the law and the gospel, recongnizing that the gospel is “more important” because we’re saved, not by not being homosexuals, but by faith in Christ alone.

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