Homosexuality
To the Editor:
At its recent Churchwide Assembly in Minneapolis, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) voted to allow practicing homosexuals to serve as rostered leaders and pastors. In doing so, the ELCA has joined the list of church bodies that have departed from the clear words of Holy Scripture and centuries of church doctrine and practice in regard to this matter.
As pastors in the 2.4 million-member Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS), we would like to take a moment to point out the clear distinction between their church body and ours. The majority of Lutheran churches in Sheboygan County are part of the LCMS, a church body that still holds that, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). We are not to be confused with the denomination, namely the ELCA, that has made this regrettable decision.
In comments before the ELCA Assembly, LCMS President Gerald Kieschnick rightly stated that, “This matter is fundamentally related to significant differences in how we [our two church bodies] understand the authority of Holy Scripture and the interpretation of God’s revealed and infallible Word.”
Historically, Lutheran churches have held that “Holy Scripture alone remains the only judge, rule, and guiding principle, according to which, as the only touchstone, all teachings should and must be recognized and judged.” This statement is taken from the 1577 Formula of Concord, one of the confessional documents of the Lutheran church.
The decision regarding homosexuality is just the latest sign that the ELCA continues to walk away from Scripture and from clear Lutheran teaching, and from orthodox Christianity.
Orthodox Christian church bodies believe:
1. The unrepentant practice of homosexual behavior, like other sins, will exclude a person from the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).
2. Those who forsake sexual sin but who still struggle with homosexual desires should be embraced, and we rejoice with them that all our fallen, sinful, broken lives can be restored and our sin forgiven through faith in Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 6:11).
There is a movement within the ELCA that has expressed its dismay over the church body’s recent action. We pray that they would be successful in their efforts to remain faithful to the Word of God and the historic teachings of the Lutheran church. We here at St. John stand ready to assist in any way.
Our call to the ELCA: Repent of the approval of sin and folly. Do not endorse behaviors that lead to separation from God. Reaffirm the great Lutheran heritage of belief in the truth and authority of Scripture. Turn from the pressures of culture and turn to the cross of Jesus.
Nathan Meador, senior
pastor, and Joshua Knippa, associate pastor, St. John
Lutheran Church, Plymouth
