As many of you have heard, about 10 days ago the largest Lutheran church body in the United States, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America), voted to allow those in same-sex relationships to serve local congregations. As this practice is unbiblical, and we share a name, “Lutheran,” it is something we need to address. Please note that not every ELCA congregation- and certainly not every ELCA member- agrees with this decision. So be kind and charitable as you consider this subject.

That said, the decision itself is not surprising. For almost 20 years the ELCA has been challenging Biblical authority over human sexuality, including a 1991 statement declaring that not all extra-marital sexual relationships were bad. In the past several years ELCA synods have actively “educated” dissenting individuals and congregations. A series of votes and actions made last week’s decision a foregone conclusion.

“Lutheran” is a great name. There once was a time that the term was synonymous with “Bible teaching.” We must not apologize for it. Of the 37 Lutheran church bodies in the United States only 1 is anywhere close to making such a decision. That is because the real issue isn’t same sex relationships, it is Biblical authority.

The ELCA is the only Lutheran church body in the United States that does not hold to the Bible as the inspired, infallible and inerrant Word of God- the source and norm for Christian life and doctrine. This is the root issue: Is our authority God’s Word or conformity to a given culture? Ignoring God’s Word in “controversial” areas has led the ELCA to embrace Biblically liberal positions on a number of issues outside of human sexuality- abortion and gender roles in the congregation to name two.

The highly publicized action of the ELCA reemphasizes the need for followers of Christ not only to have convictions, but to ground their convictions Biblically. It is not enough to know that you are “for” or “against” something. Why is it that you make that stand? Even if you are correct, if you base your conviction on something other than God’s Word, you deny His authority. I preached a three part series early this summer- quite apart from the ELCA’s consideration- called “A Biblical Response to Same Sex Issues.” You may listen to those lessons on our web site, livingwordfreelutheran.org. Also, our church body (the AFLC) has a booklet called “Homosexuality: God’s Word and our Witness.” It is available at the welcome table at Living Word, or by calling Ambassador Publications at 763 545 5631.

Go serve your King,
PW