Year End 2022

Dear Friends –

I have been enjoying doing a weekly Bible study based upon the lectionary readings for the following Sunday.  A couple churches post them on their websites and Facebook pages as part of their adult education ministry, and I know of several people who use them either for their personal devotions or as resources for a small group Bible study that they lead.

This past week I was preparing a study on the Scriptures for Reformation Sunday.  In the third chapter of his letter to the Romans the apostle Paul makes a brilliant argument showing that God is both righteous and the one who justifies the person who has faith in Jesus (verse 26).  Paul says that we are “now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood effective through faith” (verses 24-25).  I read that verse and I thought of the movement that calls itself Progressive Christianity, which rejects the teaching that Christ died for our sins.

According to this movement, Jesus did not die for our sins.  Instead he died because he opposed the oppressive political power structures of his day.  But God raised him from the dead, showing that love wins, and now we need to join in his struggle against all the oppressive political and social power structures of our day. 

I know of a congregation where the new pastor, shortly after coming, took all the Sunday School material and with a black marker crossed off any reference to Jesus’ dying for our sins.  Then he returned the material to the teachers and told them that they were to use the amended curriculum and make no mention of Jesus’ dying for our sins.  All the teachers quit.  Good for them.

According to so-called Progressive Christianity (which I would say is not Christianity), sin, death, and the power of the devil are not three forces that hold us in bondage and we need someone to deliver us from.  And the main mission of the church is not to tell people of the Savior who loves them and who has broken the power of the forces that enslave them.  Rather, according to this view, the main message and mission of the church is to challenge people and rally people to work against all oppressive political and social power structures.

According to this view, Jesus is not a Savior.  Rather he is just an example and someone who wants to rally us to his cause.

I read the Second Reading for Reformation Sunday, and I contrast it with the main message of so-called Progressive Christianity, and I realize how much is at stake.  With what is going on in the Christian church today, everything is at stake.

I am very grateful for all the people who have told me of how they have read and deeply appreciate my analysis of the recent ELCA Churchwide Assembly.  People have shared that they also are in grief and horror over the way in which –

• The ELCA’s own description of the Highlights and its account of the Summary of Actions from the assembly make no mention of God and Jesus.  There is discussion of greenhouse gases, D. C. statehood, non-disclosure agreements, LGBTQ+ rights, and talk of dismantling racism and white supremacy, but no mention of God and Jesus.

• The Assembly took action to approve a resolution that called for a review of the 2009 human sexuality social statement and reconsideration of the four positions of bound conscience.  What could very likely occur at the next churchwide assembly in 2025 would be a massive breach of trust, as the ELCA breaks its promise to provide a place of respect for traditional views and those who hold them, all while harshly criticizing the U. S. government for breaking its promises to indigenous persons.

• The Assembly also took action to call for a commission for a renewed Lutheran church.  I shudder to think of what this reconstituted Lutheran church will have as a statement of faith and a statement of the mission of the church and the role of rostered leaders.

Yes, everything is at stake.  I am certain that the majority of the members sitting in the pews in most ELCA churches would be horrified if they knew what actually is going on.

The apostle Paul told his young friend Timothy, “Proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable” (2 Timothy 4: 2).  It is your prayers, words of encouragement, friendship, and faithful financial support that enable us to do that.  Thank you for joining with us in doing what the apostle Paul also wrote to Timothy – fighting the good fight, finishing the race, and keeping the faith (2 Timothy 4: 7).

Please find enclosed a form which you can use to designate a year-end gift towards our regular operating expenses as we work to be a Voice for Biblical Truth and a Network for Confessing Lutherans.  Please also let us know how we can be praying for you.  Thank you for your partnership in the Gospel, especially at this critical time when everything is at stake.    

In Christ,

Dennis D. Nelson

Executive Director of Lutheran CORE

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I am very grateful for all the people who expressed deep concern over the movement I described in my April letter from the director to “cancel” the Gospel of John and remove John 18-19 from the lectionary readings for Holy Week, because of the claim that they foster anti-Semitism.  A link to that letter can be found here.

In that same article I mentioned an even deeper concern – a movement not just to cancel the passion narrative in John, but to “cancel” the passion.  There are many within the ELCA and other liberal/progressive, mainline denominations who reject the teaching that Jesus died for our sins.  Instead they make Good Friday into the supreme example of Jesus’ bold political protest against the Roman empire, even unto death.  And now we need to join in the work of dismantling empires and all other oppressive, political and social power structures. 

One pastor wrote, “Empire killed Jesus for being a good rabbi, telling the truth, and therefore was a threat to the power structure.”  Unfortunately, many agree. 

Another pastor offers the following rewrite of two verses of the hymn, “O Sacred Head Now Wounded.”

Verse 2 –

What you, dear Jesus, suffered casts light upon our way,

We see the cost of loving and living for the day

When all God’s children flourish in justice and in peace,

When hungry mouths will be fed and warring ways will cease.

Verse 3 –

What language shall I borrow to thank you, dearest friend;

For this your selfless living, your love that did not bend?

May my life bless all people, may my love bring you praise,

That all might share God’s blessing, that all would know God’s grace.

According to this approach, I do not need a Savior to die in my place, forgive my sins, break the power of sin, and defeat the great enemy death.  Rather I just need to be inspired and motivated to join in the effort to oppose all oppressive power structures.

But the Scriptures clearly teach that Jesus died for our sins.

In 1 Corinthians 15: 3-4 the apostle Paul emphatically states, “For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day.”  Paul clearly states that not only did Jesus die for our sins, but also that that teaching is “of first importance.” 

Revelation 1: 5 – part of the second reading for the second Sunday of Easter – says, “To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood.”  First John 2: 2 describes Jesus as “the atoning sacrifice for our sins.”  In John 1: 29 John the Baptist calls Jesus “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”  Is there any way to interpret that verse except to say that John is comparing Jesus with the Old Testament lambs upon whom the sins of the Israelites were laid and who died in their place?  Paul also wrote to the Corinthians, “He made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5: 21).     

Now certainly there are many additional ways to describe the saving work of Jesus.  He came to seek the lost (Luke 19: 10).  He rejoices when He finds us and when we come home (Luke 15).  He forgives, restores, and gives power for new living (John 8: 3-11).

I think one of the best passages for describing the rich variety of ways in which God has acted in Jesus can be found in the second chapter of Paul’s letter to the Colossians. 

We were buried with him in baptism and raised with him through faith in the power of God (v. 12).

When we were dead in trespasses, God made us alive together with Christ, when he forgave us all our trespasses (v. 13).

He erased the record that stood against us with its legal demands (v. 14).

He set this aside by nailing it to the cross (v. 14).

He disarmed the rulers and authorities and triumphed over them (v. 15).  (Based upon my reading of Ephesians 6, I am certain that Paul meant the spiritual powers of evil, not the political powers of Rome.) 

He made us alive. The charges against us were dropped.  The powers of evil were defeated.  All this Jesus did through the cross and the resurrection.  And that is a whole lot more than just calling on us to join with Him in His struggle against oppressive political and social power structures. 

Those who reject the teaching that Jesus as God the Son died for our sins do so because they claim that that teaching makes God the Father into a cruel, vindictive child abuser.

I would reply that rejecting the teaching that Jesus died for our sins is missing the whole point of the seriousness of our sins and the depth of God’s love.  Romans 6: 23 clearly says that “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.”  It is not that the Father inflicted His wrath upon the Son in order to satisfy the anger that He felt towards us.  Instead in giving His Son, God out of His great love for us gave Himself.  He Himself paid the price for us.  He satisfied His own requirements of justice.  And He won the victory over death and the power and penalty of sin.

But how widespread is it in the ELCA to reject the teaching that Jesus died for our sins?  I am not aware of any official doctrinal statement that has been approved by the ELCA Church Council, the Conference of Bishops, and/or a Churchwide Assembly which says, “We no longer believe that Jesus died for our sins.”  But evidence of how widespread this belief is is abundant, and it seems to be growing.  Here are some examples.  I will begin with two more extreme examples.

1.

Illustrated Ministry is a curriculum company whose faith formation resources are popular among many in the mainline denominations, including the ELCA.  Here is a link to an Easter resource. 

This resource describes itself in this way.  “This script outlines the way in which Jesus upended corrupt systems of power.  Because of his power, popularity, and message, those systems retaliated.”  It also says, “The good news of Jesus is often bad news for those who would like to accumulate power over others.  But in the end, death was not the end of Jesus!  We witness how Jesus lives.  His message of love and justice gives us hope.”  Did you get that?  Jesus dies only because he “upended corrupt systems of power.”  It is not that our sins need to be and are forgiven.  Rather we are to go and do likewise.

2.

Daneen Akers, author of the highly popular progressive/liberal curriculum, “Holy Troublemakers,” is another person who believes and who spreads the belief that Jesus died because he upset the status quo.  Here is a link to her article.

In this article she quotes another person as saying, “Jesus’ death was an interruption in his ministry, not the point of it.  His message of love-your-enemies, the last-shall-be-first, and God’s-realm-is-for-all was deeply threatening to the status quo.  So he was executed by the state as a cautionary tale for those who would follow his teachings.  This is why Jesus died: His teachings upset powerful hierarchies and status quos, so he was executed by the state.  The good news is that death and violence didn’t have the last word.  It’s a love-ultimately-wins story.” 

Many of the books in the picture in the article are published by Augsburg Fortress and/or are assigned or recommended as texts in ELCA seminaries.   

But some might say, But that does not mean that anyone in a leadership position in the ELCA is saying anything like that.  Is anything like that being said by anyone who would officially represent the ELCA?  Here are three examples. 

1.

Here is a blog post from the Rev. Dr. Kristin Johnston Largen, president of Wartburg Seminary, in which she condemns Isaiah 53 as “abusive” in theology.

2.

Here is a Huffington Post editorial by the Rev. Dr. David Lose, former president of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia and author of “Making Sense of the Cross” (published by Augsburg Fortress).  Dr. Lose also condemns “Christ died for our sins” as abusive theology.

3.

Here is a video from the “Animate: Faith” curriculum, published by Augsburg Fortress, in which famed ELCA pastor and public theologian Nadia Bolz-Weber condemns the idea that Christ died for our sins as divine child abuse.

I do not hear what Drs. Largen and Lose, and Pastor Bolz-Weber are saying as going as far as Illustrated Ministry and Holy Troublemakers are going in totally reinterpreting the life, death, and ministry of Jesus, but I also know that things never stay where they are now.  What is extreme now will soon become norm.  There is nothing about the ELCA that would tell me that the ELCA is able to go “just a little bit off base” without soon being “very far off base.”  Especially if more popular and accessible materials like those from Illustrated Ministry and Holy Troublemakers, and the content of books which are assigned as seminary texts, have a far greater influence on the average person and seminary students/future pastors than the writings of current and former seminary presidents. 

God is not a cosmic child abuser.  God is not wrathful and vengeful and anxious to take out on Jesus the anger He feels towards us.  But the Scriptures are very clear in teaching that Jesus died for our sins.  Any theology of what Jesus did on the cross must take that clear teaching into account in order to remain faithful to the Bible.   

There are many things that these people are saying that we need to hear, such as –

• The cross is God’s greatest expression of love rather than an expression of God’s wrath.
• The cross shows that when humans do their worst, God can bring about His best. 
• The cross shows that God is with us in all of our suffering.
• God is on the side of those who are the victims of the abuse of power, rather than on the side of the abusers of power.

From the cross Jesus cried, “It is finished.”  He did say that those who wish to follow Him must take up their cross.  But from the cross He did not cry, “Go and do likewise.”

“If the Lord had not been my help, my soul would soon have dwelt in the abode of silence.  If I should say, “My foot has slipped,” Your lovingkindness, O Lord, will hold me up.”  (Psalm 94:17-18)

 

We were born with a wandering heart, going to the places of our imagination.  The Lord calls out to all and invites us to journey with Him in truth.  The Lord watches over your going out and your coming in.  He knows who you are and what you need.  Come to the place where your soul is fed by His goodness and mercy.  Know that the Lord will hold you up.

Lord, I need Your guidance, for this world is filled with traps and pitfalls.  Guide me, O Lord, in the way I should go that I would forever dwell in Your presence.  Help me through those places where I slip that I may look to You, the One who made all things.  You are my help in every time and the One who is able to save me from this world that is heading to destruction.

Savior of the world, You have come that all who hear Your voice would rise and walk with You.  Keep me from going down into the pit.  Help me that I may now and always walk according to Your grace and mercy.  Lead me, O Lord, in the way You know I need to go and then give me the strength to follow where You lead.  You are my help and strength.  Guide me by Your lovingkindness.  Amen.

“They have said, “The Lord does not see, nor does the God of Jacob pay heed.”  Pay heed, you senseless among the people; and when will you understand, stupid ones?”  (Psalm 94:7-8)

 

There are many who rail against the Lord wondering where He is.  He does not do as people imagine a god would do things.  The Lord of Hosts has declared His purpose and you have heard of His law.  You and I are not in a position to rail against the Lord, but only to receive the reality He has declared.  When will we learn?  It is as it has always been.  The Lord is God and there is no other.

Lord, help me to ignore those who do not hear and will not listen.  They are speaking to me all the time and I am influenced by their poison.  Guide my heart to see the truth that You alone are God.  Let me not fall prey to those who rail against You.  Let the meditation of my heart be upon You who has made all things that I may walk humbly in Your sight and live according to Your Word.

Lord Jesus, You have come to rescue as many as would listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit as we are called out of the rebellion of this world and into the light of Your presence.  Guide me this day to walk humbly in Your sight and see the truth of Your grace  as it shines forth in my life.  You are the Savior and I need to be saved.  The stupid ones will always be here in this age.  Help me to not be one of them.  Amen.

“Truth springs from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. Indeed, the Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its produce. Righteousness will go before Him and will make His footsteps into a way.” (Psalm 85:11-13)

The Lord is near and His handiwork is a witness. The world clamors for evidence and wants a show, but the Lord has given His law, written in our hearts and written in creation. Yet the world goes on as it always has. You, however, have been called by the Holy Spirit to look up and then look in and see the Lord is near and present. Come to the Lord that You may abide in righteousness.

Lord, this world is so mixed up that every day I hear the calling of those who want me to go this way and that. Help me see through the noise of this world in order that I may abide in the truth. Guide my footsteps to walk the humble path of grace and repentance. Lead my mind to see through the noise of this world knowing that You are always with me. Lead me to You, O Lord.

Lord Jesus, Savior of the world. The more I look around, the more I see that this world is steeped in insanity. Your handiwork is evident, yet it is denied. You have spoken, yet it is as if few hear. Lead me through all of the nonsense by Your grace that I would simply follow You all the days of my life. Guide me, Jesus, in the way You have established for me and I will follow. Amen.

Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me.  Deliver me from those who do iniquity and save me from men of bloodshed.”  (Psalm 59:1-2)

Sometimes this world is troublesome.  There are difficulties each day.  But the Lord, who knows all things, has us in His hands.  He knows the plans He has for us.  Yes, we have our difficulties, but to Him we should turn in every time of trouble.  It may seem dark at times, but He is mighty to save and will watch over us all.  The Deliverer has come and in Him all who trust will be rescued.

Lord, I hear these words, but in times of trouble I am often overwhelmed in the moment.  Teach my heart to trust.  Teach me to learn from You that I may walk through every moment in trust and confidence in the faith You have given me.  Guide me, O Lord, that I may be led by Your mighty hand to become what you have in mind.  Lead me through every valley of the shadow of death.

Lord Jesus, You know adversity and the plotting of evil doers.  Guide me in the way I need to go each day.  Teach me to lean on You through Your Word and by prayer that I may forever hold fast to the truth You have revealed for the ages.  Lead me, my Savior, today that I may walk humbly with You and know the goodness You have in store for those who walk by faith.  Amen.

Thursday, November 23, 2017 Devotion

“Do you indeed speak righteousness, O gods?  Do you judge uprightly, O sons of men?  No, in heart you work unrighteousness; on earth you weigh out the violence of your hands.”  (Psalm 58:1-2)

All of the things we imagine are in our heads.  They are our creations.  They have no life other than what we give them in our minds.  But the Lord is forever.  What can we do that will outshine the Lord?  What can we create but things that are manipulations of what the Lord has already created?  Look to the Lord, the Maker of all things and see that He alone is God.

Lord, we think ourselves clever and manipulate Your creation.  You know all things and have put everything into its order.  Guide the meditation of my heart to see in You the hope of eternity and the marvel of all ages.  Guide my lips to speak Your praise knowing that You alone are worthy of all honor and praise.  By Your guidance, take my heart from where it is to where it needs to be.

Lord Jesus, You know the difficulties of this world.  You also know the marvels of the creation.  You have come to lead the way for as many as would follow You into truth.  Lead me this day to walk humbly with You through all that is around me.  Lead my heart so that it looks to You for all things.  Guide me, my Savior, in the way of Your salvation that I would become like You.  Amen.

“Be gracious to me, O God, be gracious to me, for my soul takes refuge in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge until destruction passes by.  I will cry to God Most High, to God who accomplishes all things for me.”  (Psalm 57:1-2)

Grace is unmerited favor, a gift that the Lord grants to those who turn to Him.  We all need grace, for we all have fallen short of the glory of the Lord.  Cry out to the Lord who hears you and knows all about what He has made.  Know that in Him you can take refuge and He will cover you in the shadow of His wing.  The Lord is more than able to accomplish your salvation.

Lord, in times of trouble I look to You, but often in times of plenty, I simply go my way and ignore You.  Help me realize that this age is a time of great trouble and turmoil.  Lead me into the truth of Your presence that I would know that in You I have an eternal hope and a future.  Guide me in Your will to walk in Your ways all the days of my life, knowing in You alone can I hope.

Christ, the Savior of the World, You have come to be the refuge for all.  Lead me in the grace You have purchased by Your own blood that I may forever walk in the mercy of the Father.  Destruction has already come upon the world, but in You I need not fear anything that comes.  Lead me, O Lord, to stand by Your side and walk where You direct, knowing that only in You will I be made complete.  Amen.

“Be gracious to me, O God, for man has trampled upon me; fighting all day long he oppresses me.  My foes have trampled upon me all day long, for they are many who fight proudly against me.  When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You.”  (Psalm 56:1-3)

The noise of this world is constant.  We hear many things, of which many are not good.  So many opinions strike us that we become confused and do not know what to believe.  Clear the way for my mind, O Lord, to see Your goodness and walk in Your ways.  Guide me according to Your goodness to walk in Your ways, and listen to and obey the sweet music of Your Word

Lord, You know what is needed and at just the right time You have come to save those who would turn to You.  Lead me in the way I should go that I would go that way.  Come into my heart and renew it to be a heart after Your own.  In Your goodness, guide me according to Your will to simply trust in Your leading and do what it is that You give me to do.  Help me, Mighty Savior.

“My Lord and my God”,  is what Thomas said of You, Lord Jesus.  Until the final action for this sinner, let me see that bowing to You will help me discern that You have saved all that come to You for grace.  Guide me in the goodness You bring that I would walk in Your ways.  Strip away my pretensions and lift me up according to the Father’s will to walk all the days of my life with You alone.  Amen.

“Save me, O God, by Your name, and vindicate me by Your power.  Hear my prayer, O God; Give ear to the words of my mouth.”  (Psalm 54:1-2)

 

Your name O Lord, what is it?  Have you not sent Yeshua, which means, literally, Your Salvation?  You are the Savior.  There is no other.  You have come as one of us to lead the way for all who will listen.  You are the One who, from the beginning, has called to as many as would hear, to hear the call of Your voice, heed Your voice and listen to the call You give.  Let my mouth be full of Your praise.

 

Lord, You know us better than any of us know ourselves.  You created us.  You know who we are.  Lead me away from what I think up to the place where I see where You have revealed reality.  Guide me in Your ways O Lord that I would be vindicated by Your power and majesty.  Let my mouth be filled with words of Your goodness and praise You all the day long.

 

Lord Jesus, You have come to show the way.  Through You, who is the way, truth and life, You have pointed to the Father who offers to all who believe and eternal relationship.  Guide me in the eternal way, established from the beginning, that I would walk with You, as You lead, to where You are taking me.  Help me now and always to hold fast to the prayer of my heart, which is to walk in the way of truth.  Amen.