Love...But Don't Follow


 

"So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." Genesis 1:27

"You who love the Lord, hate evil!" Psalms 97:10a

"...You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Matthew 22:39

"Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world..."" John 18:36

If we are going to call ourselves children of God, we ought to be able to define who God is, and what we believe about Him. In Matthew 16:15, Jesus asks His disciples (and each of us today) this very question, "But who do you say that I am?" And it is a powerful question. It sparked quite the heated debate within the church of Bible times. Many church leaders did not believe Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. There were many theories about who Jesus was or might have been. 

Biblical scholars, and other folks much smarter than me, got together in the 300's AD (yup, that long ago!) to put together the Nicene Creed. If you are interested in a bit of the history of that creed, I will place a link to one of the many articles I came across this morning at the end of today's blog. An even older creed of this Christian church is the Apostles Creed, another link below talks about that. And because I'm particularly going to talk about Lutherans today, I am including a link to Martin Luther's Small Catechism which breaks down the creed. The creed we recite each Sunday is part of what the Lutheran Church's foundation of faith was built upon.

"Who do you say I am?" Jesus is still asking us today...and it is still a heated topic of debate among some folks today. I'm looking at you, ELCA...

***** Before I go any further, I have a very big, very important disclaimer that I need you to read, digest, let it soak in, especially if you attend an ELCA church: I am coming to you in love today. Love for God, and love for you, my brothers and sisters in Christ. Not that long ago, I sat where you sit. {I worshipped at a beautiful little ELCA church for about four years, that was filled with amazing people - that I still love very dearly - and we all were relatively oblivious to what was and is happening in the ELCA at the state and national levels.} My purpose today is to expose a movement within the ELCA that is not Biblical based, that is taking some folks down a slippery slope, and that should have ALL Lutherans coming together to disavow the ELCA from using Martin Luther's good name. *****

You may or may not have heard about, or seen, a video taken during a service at an ELCA church this past week. A certain ELCA pastor led her congregation in reciting together a new 'creed.' "The Sparkle Creed," has gained big attention online this week, however in researching it today I have come to learn it was written two years ago, in 2021 by a UCC pastor (United Church of Christ). I cannot bring myself to watch this video, or paste the words of this so called creed here. The depth to which this saddens me is hard to explain. Here is an article describing the video, the service, and there is a link within to the video itself if you choose to watch: https://www.exposingtheelca.com/exposed-blog/elca-congregation-confesses-the-sparkle-creed  

Anything or anyone that we give more importance to than the One true God is simply idolatry. I cannot explain what is happening in some ELCA churches, and at state and national levels, any other way than to say they are blaspheming the Word of God. This is what happens when you teach that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God. You end up encouraging church leaders who pick and choose what you should believe from the Bible, then chalk up the rest to the sinful authors God chose to speak through. A particular comment jumped out at me on the above article, "the Lutheran Church historically has claimed to be a confessional church, that is a church confessing and in continuity with the holy, catholic, and apostolic church. Our use of the Apostles Creed and Nicene Creed are signs of our catholicity. The use of this Sparke Creed is a basic betrayal of the faith as delivered to us." 

As a Lutheran by Baptism and Confirmation, I cannot and will not consider the ELCA to be a Lutheran church any longer. It breaks my heart that they are twisting the Word of God while using Luther's name to loop them in with all other confessing Lutherans. I urge you, if you attend an ELCA church now, to please study the truth about what is going on in the church at a synod, state, and national level. If you believe the majority of your congregation agrees with you, that the ELCA is going down a dark path that you cannot spiritually or financially support, call a meeting. Reach out to an organization that will help your whole congregation leave the ELCA for a Bible-based Lutheran denomination. 

I really am coming to you in love. Jesus calls us to love one another, even those we disagree with. However, the Bible also calls us to hate evil - and this sparkle nonsense is evil. It celebrates humans more than it talks about who the Bible says God really is. It does not really talk about who He is and what He has done for us and in us. We do not need to hate the misguided people who have chosen to (or been tricked into) reciting this evil, but we need to hate the evil behind it. You can love people even while you hate any evil choices that they have sadly made. We are not our choices. But our choices will lead us in one of two directions. If you truly know who you are and Whose you are, what direction will you choose to go?

Jesus came to save us from our sins, all of us from all our sins. We all have "sinned and fallen short" and it is not our place to judge people by their sins. But judging and guiding are two different things. We don't have to point out each sin in order to guide people to God's love. And we don't have to follow those who are sinning in order to prove we love them. Jesus did not follow the ways of the world. He came and followed only God's way. He lived out God's love for all of us, giving us an example of Living Truth that guides what direction we should go. 

Today's thoughts were heavy, they were the most difficult and controversial topic I have ever tackled. I do not want to end today without asking you to join me in prayer:

Heavenly Father, We praise You, and You alone, as the One true God. Your might, Your power, Your love, Your grace, and Your mercy are unmatched. We are in awe of all You have done, continue to do, and will do in the future for us, despite our many flaws, and despite our tendency to stray. Lord, there are so many people so loudly proclaiming all different things about You, who You are, and who we are or who we ought to be. Grant us Your wisdom and discernment to closely examine everything being said about You against Your inerrant Word, the Bible, so we may separate truth from lies. God we know that Jesus said He came to bring division (in Luke 12:51) and we know You call us to live apart from the ways of this world. Lord lead us on Your path that we may learn to love all Your children, even if we hate their actions. Guide us in the direction we should go, so that we do not mistakenly follow those who teach lies in Your name. God we ask you to forgive us all of our sins, and help us to forgive all who have sinned against us. We know forgiveness is hard for our sinful natures, but we believe in the importance of forgiving each other, over and over again. Finally Lord, we ask that You please guide our words when we pray, direct us to the right words when we confess our faith, and please grant us Your Spirit for the words to say when we speak about You to others. We ask all things be done not according to our will but according to Yours. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.



Another article about the sparkle creed - additional links within article to more ELCA heresy: https://protestia.substack.com/p/elca-church-recites-blasphemous-sparkle 

A History of The Nicene Creed: https://zondervanacademic.com/blog/the-nicene-creed-where-it-came-from-and-why-it-still-matters

A History of The Apostles Creed: https://zondervanacademic.com/blog/apostles-creed 

Martin Luther's Catechism exerpt about the Apostles Creed: http://catechism.cph.org/en/creed.html 

What the ELCA believes about the Bible: https://www.exposingtheelca.com/exposed-blog/elca-belief-about-the-bible-and-inerrancy

Assistance for Congregations Wishing to Leave the ELCA: https://www.exposingtheelca.com/help-and-advice-on-leaving-elca.html 

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