All Glory to God the Father and to our Savior Jesus Christ
Let us turn to John 1
John 1: 1-5 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.
5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
The Apostle John – known simply as the disciple whom Jesus loved. John never refers to himself in his own gospel, except as the one whom Jesus loved. Early Church fathers consistently identify him as John. In fact, Polycarp, an early Church father, was an actual disciple of John. Polycarp lived from 70 to 160 AD and testified that John wrote his gospel in the city of Ephesus, which is in Asia Minor, when John was at an advanced age. John was aware of what was written in the other gospels, and the Holy Spirit compelled him to write a spiritual gospel. They believe John to have died around 100 AD and to the best of my knowledge, he did not die a martyr, which would make him the only one of the disciples not to have been a martyr.
We find an interesting reference to this in John 21. Our Lord is calling Peter to task. Peter, as Peter always does, is being a bit rebellious, but had finally accepted what Jesus had been asking him, which was “Tend my Sheep” and “Follow Me!” Jesus then tells Peter that his path to follow would be a hard one. I think that maybe there might be a bit of tension between John and Peter. This was before the Holy Spirit was sent to indwell them (Acts 2:3), when all lessons by Christ were understood and the Love that Christ commanded them to have for each other took hold.
John 13:34-35
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
35 By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Getting back to our Peter story, we find this in John 21:20-23
20 Peter, turning around, *saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?”
21 So Peter seeing him *said to Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man?”
22 Jesus *said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!”
23 Therefore this saying went out among the brethren that that disciple would not die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but only, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?”
(I find I share a lot of the mule-headedness that Peter had.)
Jesus met John and his brother James, while they were in their father’s boat, mending nets. They both immediately got up and followed Jesus.
Matthew 4:21-22
21 Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them.
22 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.
Both of them were called the Sons of Thunder by Jesus. And we can see perhaps an example of this.
Luke 9:51-55
51 When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem;
52 And He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him.
53 But they did not receive Him, because He was traveling toward Jerusalem.
54 When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?”
55 But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of;
56 for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” And they went on to another village.
They were a tad zealous in how they approached things. We also know that John and his brother came from an ambitious family. Their Mother approached Jesus and asked of Him something He could not grant.
Matthew 20:20-28
20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons, bowing down and making a request of Him.
21 And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She *said to Him, “Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit one on Your right and one on Your left.”
22 But Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They *said to Him, “We are able.”
23 He *said to them, “My cup you shall drink; but to sit on My right and on My left, this is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.”
24 And hearing this, the ten became indignant with the two brothers.
25 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them.
26 It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant,
27 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave;
28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
All of the disciples were wrangling for more honor and glory in what they perceived to be Jesus’s mission here on earth. It was of their nature, because they were born of sin, as we ourselves are.
Review:
This first chapter of John starts out in something that causes awe in me.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
There is no reference in the Bible as to Jesus being called the Word of God, but we do find in John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
So the Bible ends up explaining itself. Jesus was there in the beginning, with God and also being God. Our Trinity is one God with 3 persons. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Sometimes hard to wrap our head around it, but that’s where Faith comes in.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
Again to reinforce the concept, Jesus was there, in the beginning, before time and the universe as we understand it, began. The Word, as Jesus, enjoyed all the splendors of heaven and eternity with the Father, yet He came down to earth in the form of man and died on the cross, emptying Himself, so that we who believe might live. A gift too awesome to really understand.
3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
Jesus Christ was God the Father’s agent in creating everything in the universe.
Colossians 1:16-17
For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.
17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
Hebrews 1:2,4
2 In these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.
4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.
Light and life are qualities of the Word that are shared not only among the Godhead as found in John 5:26 For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself;
But also by those that respond to the gospel message regarding Jesus Christ. Found in John 8:12, 9:5, 10:28, 11:25, 14:6. John uses the word “life” 36 times in his gospel. More than any other gospel.
5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
Proverbs 4:19 The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know over what they stumble.
Just as a single candle can overcome a room full of darkness, the powers of darkness are overcome by the work of the Son, through his death on the cross.
Numbers 6:22-26 “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.”
1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short That it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear.
The Lord’s strength is more than adequate to bring deliverance to captive Israel and to us today. His ear is attuned to the call of His repentant people. We are His people and can claim Abraham as our Father, just as the Jews do. Let us look at Romans 4 verses 9 to 12:
9 Is this blessing then on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say, “Faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.” 10 How then was it credited? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised; 11 and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them, 12 and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised.
God always had planned for Gentiles to be included in His Grace and Mercy, to be offered His hand in saving Grace and salvation. The Jews were to be His ambassadors and priests to the world. But the Jews were stiff necked and not accepting of His Son, the Messiah and our Savior.
We must remember that God is always available and fully capable of helping His people. God never moves away from His people, they move away from Him. He hears and answers prayers, the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
2 But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.
Who has separated from whom? Has God left us or have we left him? If our prayers are not answered, and the salvation we wait for is not brought unto us, it is not because God is weary of hearing prayer, but because we are weary of praying. If you are persistent in sin, you have in fact caused God to hide His face from you and He will give you up to your sin. As in Romans 1 verses 24 to 25:
24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
3 For your hands are defiled with blood And your fingers with iniquity; Your lips have spoken falsehood, Your tongue mutters wickedness.
It sounds like Romans 1 is the right place to continue. Verses 28 to 32.
28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.
4 No one sues righteously and no one pleads honestly. They trust in confusion and speak lies; They conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity.
We are puffed up with pride and will do, or say, anything to save face. We will tell a lie, if it will sway the decision for us. We are lost to sin and nothing has changed from then to now. Isaiah is telling his people that their hearts and minds are stayed on evil.
5 They hatch adders’ eggs and weave the spider’s web; He who eats of their eggs dies, And from that which is crushed a snake breaks forth.
This is speaking of the evil imaginations they hatch in their evil minds. They tell one lie upon another to catch a person in their evil web. Those who associate with them become just as evil as they are. How is it that we think that we can associate with satan and not be affected? And satan quite often comes in the guise of a believer, someone you would trust, who would beguile you with a smooth message that makes sense. Remember what happened with Eve.
6 Their webs will not become clothing, Nor will they cover themselves with their works; Their works are works of iniquity, And an act of violence is in their hands.
They are not weaving material for garments to help someone. They are weaving to trap someone who is unaware, like a spider would. Their works help no one at all. They are works that are useless.
This we have seen in our own society in recent years, that acts of iniquity and violence destroy, they do not build.
7 Their feet run to evil, And they hasten to shed innocent blood; Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity, Devastation and destruction are in their highways.
This seems to be taken from Proverbs 1 verse 16:
For their feet run to evil And they hasten to shed blood.
The words focused on the national depravity of Israel that stood in the way of God’s deliverance. Paul showed that what was true of sinful Israel is indicative of the depravity of all mankind; Romans 3 verses 15 to 17:
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 in their paths are ruin and misery,
17 and the way of peace they have not known.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
8 They do not know the way of peace, And there is no justice in their tracks; They have made their paths crooked, Whoever treads on them does not know peace.
The way of peace they know not. Neither the way of peace with God, supposing it is to be made by man, and not by Christ; and are ignorant of the steps and methods taken to procure it.
Look closely at our present day and marvel at what was spoken 2600 years ago is so true in our day and time. We who do everything possible to avoid discomfort, boredom and drudgery and are so easily swayed by what the world wants of us in our churches. We have churches that have ordained gay/lesbian clergy, who support Planned Parenthood (63 million abortions), who say they believe the God of the Bible, but not the bible itself. And yet we are so incurious as to even bother to find out any of these things, but willingly sit in the pew and let life slide by.
A Confession of Wickedness
9 Therefore justice is far from us, And righteousness does not overtake us; We hope for light, but behold, darkness, For brightness, but we walk in gloom.
Because we have no regard for justice or honesty, God will not plead our cause against our oppressors; He does not defend our rights, nor avenge our wrongs; as if he had said, If we had executed judgment and equity among one another, they would not now have been far from us.
John 11:10 “But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.”
Jesus says walk in the Light.
John 8:12 “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
The secret to all of this, is repenting and coming to God, so that the Light will guide you.
10 We grope along the wall like blind men, We grope like those who have no eyes; We stumble at midday as in the twilight, Among those who are vigorous we are like dead men.
They have eyes to see, but they do not see. Their sin has blinded them. Their spirit is dead.
11 All of us growl like bears, And moan sadly like doves; We hope for justice, but there is none, For salvation, but it is far from us.
They are in desperate need of a Savior. God could not wait until they, or we, deserved to be saved, because they could not pull themselves out of the darkness. God sent His Son to bring the Light to the world, so that whosoever would could be saved.
When the Light of Jesus shines in your life, it does away with all darkness. They just need Jesus, their Messiah to come and awaken them.
12 For our transgressions are multiplied before You, And our sins testify against us; For our transgressions are with us, And we know our iniquities:
If we shut our eyes against the light of Divine truth, it is just with God to hide from our eyes the things that belong to our peace. The sins of those who profess themselves God’s people, are worse than the sins of others. And the sins of a nation bring public judgments, when not restrained by public justice. Men may murmur under calamities, but nothing will truly profit while they reject Christ and his gospel.
13 Transgressing and denying the Lord, And turning away from our God, Speaking oppression and revolt, Conceiving in and uttering from the heart lying words.
Luke 6:45 “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.”
14 Justice is turned back, And righteousness stands far away; For truth has stumbled in the street, And uprightness cannot enter.
With evil men there is no justice. They lie and cheat to get whatever they want. There is no such thing as a fair trial, when you have evil witnesses.
The Lord took it on Himself to change Israel’s condition through the intervention of His Suffering Servant (53:12).
15 Yes, truth is lacking; And he who turns aside from evil makes himself a prey. Now the Lord saw, And it was displeasing in His sight that there was no justice.
In an environment where evil prevailed, anyone who departed from it became a victim of his environment because he did not fit in.
Those, who are living evil lives, try to destroy anyone who tries to break away and do right. One of the reasons for this is because the evil ones are afraid their evil ways will be found out.
God helps those who try to break away from evil. God will fight on your behalf, if you make a stand for God.
16 And He saw that there was no man, And was astonished that there was no one to intercede; Then His own arm brought salvation to Him, And His righteousness upheld Him.
Not any man came forward to try to straighten this out. It is not known why, but perhaps from fear, no one stepped forward to work for God in this matter. God had sent judges, and prophets, but the evil ones had killed them.
There was no man who would do this, so there had to be the Arm of God to be the Savior. Jesus Christ is the Arm of God. He is the Savior. Jesus was not a man, but was housed in the flesh of man for His stay upon the earth.
He not only had righteousness, He was Righteousness.
17 He put on righteousness like a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle.
The Lord armed Himself for the deliverance of His people and for taking vengeance on enemies who would seek His destruction. Paul drew on this terminology in describing a believer’s spiritual preparation for warding off the attacks of Satan (Eph. 6:14, 17, 1 Thess. 5:8).
Jesus did not need armor like the kings wore in battle. His armor for His breast was righteousness. He is the Head of the church. He brought salvation to all who would believe. He is the Head; the believers in Christ make up the body.
The only weapon He used was the two-edged sword, which is the Word of God. His sword came from His mouth.
The Bible says that vengeance belongs to God, He will repay. He worked tirelessly, so that all who would believe would be saved. He worked 6 hours on the cross to complete His work on the earth. When the six hours were over, He said, it is finished.
18 According to their deeds, so He will repay, Wrath to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies; To the coastlands He will make recompense.
The judgment is generally against all, in Israel or outside it, who come under this description. The word “islands” is used, as elsewhere, for far-off lands. The words point to every such judgment, from that of Cyrus to the great final day.
Lest we think that judgement here is only for the wayward Jews, I remind all that it is a narrow path that we must choose and all will bend a knee to our King, Lord and Savior.
19 So they will fear the name of the Lord from the west And His glory from the rising of the sun, For He will come like a rushing stream Which the wind of the Lord drives.
Fear could be thought of as reverence to God. The Gentile world will depend on the name of Jesus to save them. This just means when the great armies of the world come against the believers, Jesus will raise a standard against Satan and the world.
20 “A Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” declares the Lord.
Romans 3:30 “Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.”
21 “As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My Spirit which is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring’s offspring,” says the Lord, “from now and forever.”
This is that everlasting covenant that God made with man.
Galatians 3:16 “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.”
In Christ we inherit the promises of both Jew and Gentile.
Galatians 3:29 “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
We are to take no thought what we are to say. God will fill us with the correct thing to say, as we need it. He is with us, and in us.
Colossians 1:27 “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:”
Now may the Lord bless you, and keep you;
May the Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you;
May the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.’
I am going to call this the “Come to Jesus” edition of Wednesday Bible Study for obvious reasons as we proceed. I have struggled with this since last week, which ironic as I know that for at least some of you, the last Bible Study is gone from your mind.
So let me recapp to bring us all up to speed. Last week was Isaiah 58 and in the course of my reading the scripture and my commentary of such, I happened to touch on what some might call my favorite hobby horse, I am talking about ELCA and the role of women in the church. Every time I do this, I notice quite a few pinched faces around the table. For some it is the mention of the ELCA and for others, it is the mention of women and sometimes it’s both. And I am getting the impression that you, those with the pinched faces, are thinking of me as a bit of a misogynist.
The end of last week’s Bible Study had a different tone however, and it opened my eyes. The rest of that day I was shaking my head and that led to prayers to the Lord for wisdom on how to handle this. Now, I don’t have a direct communication line to God, He deals with me as He deals with everybody else. Typically I will get answers, by what shows up in my YouTube feed, what I end up clicking on, that sort of thing. If you hadn’t noticed, I truly believe in God’s control of all and I do mean all.
Happily, my prayers were answered and it came in two parts. Part one was to point out the sin with authority, and the second part was Genesis 3:16, which is the curse of Eve. Unhappily, this turns out to be a hard message.
Now I know the way of our group and by extension most of Minnesota, would rather sweep things under the rug when disagreements pop up. Pretend to forget they happened and go on with life.
Except when souls are involved. I am not an ordained pastor, nor am I an elder of the Church, nope, none of that. I got asked to teach this bible study, so now I am a teacher, and as a teacher I am way more accountable to God than I have ever been. We see in the Bible that James thought it not always wise to to become one who taught the word of God.
James 3:1
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.
So let’s get to the matter at hand. Please turn to 1 Timothy, chapter 2 and I will show you where I get my wacky ideas about church and women from.
1 Timothy 2:7-15
For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying) as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
8 Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension.
9 Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments,
10 but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness.
11 A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness.
12 But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet.
13 For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve.
14 And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.
15 But women will be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.
We come to our first bump in the road, Bible Inerrancy.
The Bible claims to be the very word of God. If God is God, He does not make mistakes. If the Bible is breathed out by God, there cannot be “minor errors” in details of history. If the Bible contains such errors, it can hardly be the work of a perfect God. And if God is not perfect and totally trustworthy, God is not God.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
Every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work.
Do they believe?
Now let’s deal with the other elephant in the room. In 1847 the Missouri Synod of the Lutheran Church was founded by German immigrants to combat what they saw as the liberalization of Lutheranism in America. It turns out they were way ahead of their time.
The ELCA was formed in 1988 and counted 5.2 million members. It was a merger of 3 churches: The American Lutheran Church, the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches and the Lutheran Church in America.
They had long been pressured by Europe to accept the inevitable. Finnish female pastors had told them they were decades behind the times.
So they formed committees and enlisted the help of liberal theologian scholars who turned out to be very flippant with Paul’s instructions for the church. Of course feminism by the women in the committees played a role in this, which is nothing new, at all. In the bible, Jezebel was a big proponent of feminism. Do you remember how God dealt with this woman? She was thrown out a window, trampled by horses and eaten by dogs. Fortunately for us, God slowed way down on doing that kind of thing since Jesus was here.
So the ELCA choose to opened their doors to the world, because the world had changed and was demanding that women have their rightful place, their full civil rights and that naturally meant that they go ahead and ordain women as pastors, then bishops. A bishop is in control of 50 congregations and they have the authority to vote, representing those 50 congregations.
I remind you at this point that in the entire Old Testament, there was never a woman as priest. In the New Testament, never a woman as priest or elder. We have God’s will for the church as defined by Him and that was good for at least 4000 years and now because we are so dang smart and know so much, God’s will no longer applies.
This also brings us to the Genesis 3:16 part of the program. The curse of Eve, but really it is much more than that. Eve was deceived by satan, and ate from the Tree of Knowledge. She was persuaded that God was holding something good back from her. Adam had learned that when he perceived his need, God would provide for that need. Our daily bread so to speak. This was the beginnings of Faith, which was the intent of God, for us to have Faith in Him.
The devil comes along and upends Adam and Eve’s faith that God would provide their needs. That God was good and loved them. No, says the serpent, eat from this tree and you will not die, you will know what God knows and won’t that be great? Now the divine order of life has been upset, with satan leading Eve and Eve leading Adam.
God had been cut out of that loop. God then hands out justice, Eve gets a 2 part curse. Pain in childbirth and the desire for her husband, and her husband will rule over her. How is desire for her husband a curse, you ask? Well when it is used in this context in Hebrew, it is also used in the same context in:
Genesis 4:7.
If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.
Here God is talking to Cain and the desire spoken about here is also used in the same context as Eve’s desire, so this desire is one to overthrow or dominate, rather than loving desire. Eve will seek to assert her dominance over her mate, to be its leader like when she ate from the Tree of Life. And of course people argue over this, but the Hebrew is pretty clear. If you have Faith in the Lord, believe in the Bible as His Living Word, thereby acknowledging His divine will. God, then Man, then Woman is how He intends His order of authority to be. This is also why those led by satan dispute this.
So, is it any surprise when you open the church doors to the world, who do you suppose wanders in? Lucifer, probably with a smile on his face and rubbing his hands together with delight. This came about due to their belief that the Bible is not inerrant. They say they believe in the God of the Bible, but not the bible itself, because it was written by sinful men. No mention of the Holy Spirit working with these sinful men, which all men and women are, producing the God-Breathed words by their hands with His authority.
Matthew 12:31
31 “Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven.
The definition of Blasphemy:
The crime of assuming to oneself the rights or qualities of God.
Irreverent behavior toward anything held sacred, priceless, etc.
I don’t know if this qualifies as blasphemy for saying only sinful men wrote and copied the scripture, but from my reading the bible and understanding how God hates sin, I would be very careful.
ELCA Bishops say they only believe in the God of the Bible
ELCA pastor Jerry O’Neal writes, “To those who say, ‘But you don’t believe in the Bible?’ No, I don’t. As our former presiding bishop, Mark Hanson, once said, ‘I don’t believe in the Bible – I believe in the God revealed in the Bible.’ The Bible is NOT inerrant. It contains clear contradictions in places…
In 2003 a Lutheran for Life web article we find this: “A member of the ELCA inquired of the Board of Pensions as to whether they would pay for an abortion for the purpose of sex selection. The board stated that they would pay for an abortion for that purpose. The secretary of the ELCA confirmed this conclusion.”
They also have an AbortionSS_Summary.pdf that states in which “A developing life in the womb does not have an absolute right to be born…”
Now we move on to 2009 where the ELCA voted, and it passed the vote, to ordain LGTBQ pastors. They also will marry gay couples. At this point, ELCA membership had dropped to 3.2 million members
Leviticus 18:22 You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination.
Leviticus 20:13 If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltiness is upon them.
We saw this ourselves at Beckville Church, which we used to belong to. The pastor called the children up for a children’s story and said “Since God is genderless, today let’s call her she.” We have never been back after this.
Matthew 18:6
But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
Let us turn to Romans 1
It is clear to me when they opened their doors to the world satan began to lead them.
We just read Romans 1:18-32 and it seems to be their guiding principle, not to mention how they ignore “Thou shall not kill.”
Let me summarize, there was a lot of information here and in case you nodded off for a bit…
The ELCA is in direct contravention to God’s will on the Headship of His church and family. God chose Man to lead. Genesis 3:16, 1 Timothy 2:8-15, 1 Corinthians 14:34-36
The ELCA says they believe in the Bible, but their Bishops say no, only the God of the Bible.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
You will find, when looking at the ELCA information on the web, they will talk out both sides of their mouth.
The ELCA, with its female pastors and Bishops, is changing the gender of the Holy Spirit and is corrupting children in thinking God is genderless, so again, female. Ephesians 4:4-6, Matthew 28:13, John 15:26 and many more. Plus Jesus’s warning of sinning against the Holy Spirit.
The ELCA is ordaining and marrying gay/lesbian people. The Bible calls this an abomination. Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:13, Romans 1:26-27
The ELCA will provide money to pay for abortions to their membership, with their health plan.
Exodus 20:13 Thou shalt not kill.
You may be incredulous to my claims, but I remind you that I am accountable to God and I take that very seriously. So, this is the Come to Jesus moment. Go where your heart leads you. Repent and accept Jesus as your Savior, Lord and King.
I recommend that we all pray for the members of the ELCA, that their hearts would be softened and they would come back to Jesus.
1 “Cry loudly, do not hold back; Raise your voice like a trumpet, And declare to My people their transgression And to the house of Jacob their sins.
God is using Isaiah as a trumpet to sound out a warning. Our preachers of this day need to sound the trumpet like this prophet of old. The people were lost to their transgressions and needed a stern call to wake them up. Those that would listen were vastly outnumbered by those whose hearts were hardened by sin.
We find the whole world today is in even worse condition than the house of Jacob in their day. Sin is running rampant. God will not sit idly by and let this happen. The preachers who are not sounding a warning to their people will be responsible for the sins of the people God has given them to minister to. This is why it is so important to find a good church. Do not sit idly by while the church you’ve gone to most of your life has changed, welcoming in the world of compromise and universalism. What’s the harm, you think. I am going to church and that makes me a good person and right with God. As to the first assertion:
Mark 10:17-18
As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.
Romans 7:18
For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.
Mark 7:21-23
21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,
22 deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness.
23 All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.
And many more scripture verses attest to man’s heart not being good.
Therefore, how is it you can think of yourself as a good person, in any sense, and think that you are pleasing God by going to a church that does not preach from the scripture, that says only Love comes from our God and He accepts all people, just as they are, yellow, black and white along with lesbian, gay and queer?
You can be any combination of these things and come to church and be accepted, but don’t expect to remain in that condition. Now you can’t do anything about your color, but every other thing about you will change when you accept the Lord as your King and Savior. But there are churches out there that are fine with you being what you are. And what you are is an unsaved sinner in the thrall of satan. These churches want bodies in the door, money in the collection plate and the acceptance of the world for being a welcoming place for everybody.
How do you think our Lord feels about His church, His bride, bowing to the world, letting satan set the tone of how worship will be done? Didn’t He die on the cross, to remove the sin from men’s hearts, to save us from the justice of burning in the lake of fire, which is each one of our just rewards, if Christ had not sacrificed Himself for our benefit and salvation? And this is how we show our appreciation? The clay is getting pretty brazen.
2 “Yet they seek Me day by day and delight to know My ways, As a nation that has done righteousness And has not forsaken the ordinance of their God. They ask Me for just decisions, They delight in the nearness of God.
Israel was merely “going through the motions.” Their appearance of righteousness was mere pretense. I do believe that this is what I was just talking about. Are you just going through the motions? With your church life, possibly with life in general? Is it too much work to change? If so, you lack the energizing power of God’s presence in your life. Any time you find a task or a period of time in your life that is too much, too hard to handle, go to the Lord. Ask His forgiveness for your lack of Faith and while you are still on your knees and praying, ask Him for more Faith and the strength to get through that which seems too much. We who have so much and have it so good, in comparison to the rest of the world and the past, we who have the convenience of living good, find it rather hard to humble ourselves and go to the Lord for His Mercy and Grace.
These Jews of old were just going through the motions, like many of us are. They were going through the formality of serving God, but their hearts were not in it. They were honoring God by keeping the ordinances, but they really did not honor Him in their hearts.
Jesus called this type of person “whited walls” and that is interesting because I just ran across this in Acts 23. Paul was held before the Sanhedrin and said something that the High Priest took umbrage with. Paul called the High Priest a “white-washed wall” in response to being struck due to the High Priest’s command.
It is an idiom that means a dirty wall which has been made to look clean. We find that some churches today are so formal in their worship, that there is no Spirit. Ritualistic service is not what God wants. He wants our hearts.
3 ‘Why have we fasted and You do not see? Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?’ Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire, And drive hard all your workers.
The type of fasting they were doing here was a waste of their time. This fasting was just a show for the world. It was as if they were saying, I have fasted now, what are you going to do for me in return, God? It was as if it was a tradeoff. Speaking of the Jews here, they felt that God had not kept His bargain with them if He did not immediately reward them for fasting.
I write this Bible Lesson on Monday. Our church has a fast day on the last day of the month. Now I don’t know how many people fast in our church, my thinking is not that many, but not my concern. I have fasted on the last day of the month, I figure that I have been truly blessed and it is such a small thing to do for the Lord. Last month I was sick during that week and did not fast, this month the fast was for Saturday, but life intruded. We attended a birthday party for my wife’s cousin. He is 64, but it was his 16th birthday, because of it being on a leap year. His father also was born on a leap year and family gatherings are a true treasure of fellowship and love and food to boot, so I did not fast that day. The next day was Sunday and I could have fasted that day, but it was the Lord’s day and I wanted to focus on that. So, Monday was my fast day and lo and behold, Isaiah is talking about fasts. Pagans would call that a coincidence, but I smile and know that is how God works in my life. Little things that keep pointing you in the right direction. Our God is an awesome God and rules from Heaven above. You know the song.
4 “Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist. You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high.
This is what Jesus had to say about fasting.
Matthew 6:16-18
“Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face
18 so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
5 “Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself? Is it for bowing one’s head like a reed And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed? Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the Lord?
The answer to this is no. This is not what God wishes. God does not just want a man to go through the formality of bowing his head to Him. He does not even want you to tear your clothes, and throw sand on your head. God wants you to have a humble heart. He wants your heart and mind upon Him.
The acceptable fast to God is total dedication to Him from your heart. God is not interested in an outward show. He wants you to truly love Him in your heart.
6 “Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke, And to let the oppressed go free And break every yoke?
Fasting is the discipline of abstaining from food for biblical reasons. It is called “afflicting one’s soul” (verse 3), and is often practiced to demonstrate the sincerity of our prayers.
There are several biblical reasons for fasting. Christians should fast when facing a national crisis (2 Chron. 20:3; Ezra 8:21; Esther 4:16),
for individual needs (Matt. 17:21),
during periods of distress (2 Sam. 3:35; Psalm 35:13),
when facing spiritual decisions (Matt. 4:2; Acts 13:2),
and in anticipation of Christ’s return (Luke 5:35).
Many people have found that heavy burdens are relieved through fasting (Isaiah chapter 58), wisdom is obtained through fasting (Dan. 10), revival comes from fasting (verse 6), God’s protection from danger is secured by fasting (1 Kings 21:27-29), recovery of a sick loved one may come after fasting (Psalm 35:13), and the inauguration of a great ministry may follow fasting (Matt. 4:2).
When a Christian fasts, he should begin with a short fast, one day from sundown to sundown, and attempt to spend time alone with God during the fast. (Isa. 58:6; James 5:14).
God is saying in this, if your heart is right with Me, set the captives free. Stop laying burdens on others too heavy to bear. Break every yoke you have placed on others. Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you. Love your neighbor as yourself. Above all, Love God with your whole heart. This is the acceptable fast to God.
7 “Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry And bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
Jesus said it this way. “Inasmuch as you have done it to the least of these thy brethren, you have done it unto me”. Feed the hungry, clothe the naked. Help those who cannot help themselves. Help those of your own family who are the family of God.
8 “Then your light will break out like the dawn, And your recovery will speedily spring forth; And your righteousness will go before you; The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
When Israel learned the proper way to fast, she would enjoy the blessings of salvation and the Messiah’s kingdom.
Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
When you are full of the Lord Jesus Christ, you are full of His Light, for He is the Light of the world. This is that new life in Christ that we speak of.
Galatians 2:20 “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
It is not necessary to tell people you belong to God, when you have Christ living in you. They will know it by the life you live.
9 “Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; You will cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you remove the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness,
If we go before God renouncing all our sins, and desirous of doing our duty, then we have a right to expect that he will hear us. But if we go indulging still in sin; if we are false and hollow and hypocritical in our worship; or if, while we keep up the regular forms of devotion, we are nevertheless guilty of oppression, cruelty, and dishonesty, we have no right to expect that he will hear us.
10 And if you give yourself to the hungry And satisfy the desire of the afflicted, Then your light will rise in darkness And your gloom will become like midday.
When you have love and compassion for others and help them in their need, the Light of God within you becomes brighter and brighter. This Light does away with all darkness. To be possessed of the Light of Jesus Christ does away with all darkness.
11 “And the Lord will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.
Luke 6:38
Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”
God will not withhold any good thing from you, when you have a generous heart to others. He repays you in every way. You will prosper, and be in good health. You will not go hungry, or thirsty, because you have given to others.
Psalm 37:25 “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.”
12 “Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins; You will raise up the age-old foundations; And you will be called the repairer of the breach, The restorer of the streets in which to dwell.
In view here is the final restoration of the millennial Jerusalem, of which Nehemiah’s rebuilding of the walls (Nehemiah 2:17), was only a foretaste.
Israel was in a terrible state at the time Isaiah wrote this. God will bring them back into the land and it will flourish, if they keep His commandments. This is, also, speaking of the time when the veil in the temple will be torn from the top to the bottom opening the way to God for all who will believe.
13 “If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot From doing your own pleasure on My holy day, And call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, And honor it, desisting from your own ways, From seeking your own pleasure And speaking your own word,
Now, we see that the blessings of God will be upon Israel, if they obey God. If they follow in His ways, He will bless them. The promises made to Abraham which come down to them will be a blessing to them, if they will honor and respect God in all they do, all they say, and all they are in their hearts. One day in seven belonged to God.
In days past, Sunday would be just a day to work or do things you wanted to. It was about doing what we wanted to do. Now, having studied the scriptures, I see things in a vastly different light. The light of our Lord. There are those that say it to be used as a day of rest, rest from your work. I who do not work, need no rest from my labors. And even if I did, the Lord’s Day would now be different. How can it not be after reading the Bible? Honor the Lord, spend time with family and friends in fellowship and hospitality. Keep the Lord in your thoughts, as it shows trust in God that He will keep His promises.
14 Then you will take delight in the Lord, And I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.
God had promised Abraham the land. He had also promised to bless all the nations of the world through him, if he remained faithful to God. His descendants had wandered away and gone after false gods, but God is renewing His pledge here.
He has forgiven them of the past errors, but they must be obedient to His Word and His ways. Whenever God promises anything, He will do it. He is not like a man, that He should lie.
God is Truth. All He asks is that they love Him and delight in Him. Again He says, if they keep His commandments, He will bless them. The other side of this is, if they do not obey Him, curses will follow.
That follows for us as well. Keep His commandments, Love Him, Honor Him, Give all Glory to Him and we will be blessed. Turn away, and we are in this country turning away constantly, and we will be cursed.
We talked just a bit about Calvinism last week and amongst 5 points of what people accept Calvinism to be is one called Unconditional Election and this seems to give many people a real problem. Unconditional Election is where God does not base His election on anything He sees in the individual. He chooses the elect according to the kind intention of His will.
This is supported by Ephesians 1:4-8:
4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love
5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,
6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace
8 which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight.
Romans 9:11
For though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls.
This is done without any consideration of merit within the individual. Nor does God look into the future to see who would pick Him. Also, as some are elected into salvation, others are not.
Romans 9:15
For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
Romans 9:21
Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?
So, as you can imagine, the “others are not” gives those who have little regard or understanding of God’s sovereignty, a real fit. One of the men that brought Calvinism to my attention is Dr. Curt Daniel. He has a wonderful and very thorough lecture series on Calvinism at this URL: https://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/onsite/histtheocalvin.html
He also has a story about a woman accosting him after one of his lectures, telling him that her god would never be that awful as to deliberately consign a person to hell. Dr. Daniel told her this story: He said that she is imagining that St. Peter’s gate to Heaven is being almost broken down by people thronging to get into Heaven. He said what is happening is God looks over St. Peter’s gate, which is almost empty, and sees the stampede to hell on a wide path. He picks people out of that crowd to be saved, according to His will.
That is found in Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
We will end with this from Number 6:24-26
24 The Lord bless you, and keep you;
25 The Lord make His face shine on you,
And be gracious to you;
26 The Lord lift up His countenance on you,
And give you peace.’