Lutheran License to Sin

A report in today’s newspaper, titled, “Lutherans Eye Change in Policy on Gay Clergy,” indicates another step in a downward plunge to destruction in the Lutheran Church.  The article reports on recent developments in The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.  This is the largest Lutheran body in America, with 4,700,000 members; it is also the most liberal of the Lutheran denominations. 

Peter Strommen of Minnesota is chairman of a 15-member task force that recommended allowing individual congregations to decide if they would like to allow sodomite and lesbian members to serve as local pastors.  Already, certain congregations do permit sodomites to be ministers or pastors, but this is an effort to make this an established policy.  This will attempt to avoid the kind of infighting that has occurred in recent years in the Episcopal Church, especially since an openly homosexual minister was installed as Bishop of that denomination and some conservative Episcopal congregations have strongly objected.

Strommen said, “The question ends up being, ‘How are we going to live together in that absence of consensus?’ This ought not to be church-dividing, even if there are strong differences.”  Presently, homosexuals are permitted to serve as pastors but must remain celibate.  The new policy would permit sodomites in “livelong, monogamous, same-gender relationships.”

Stanley Olson, the executive director of vocation and education for the Lutheran Church, stated that allowing churches decide if they will permit openly homosexual ministers to remain in this sin will allow all to live in harmony.  “That goes hand in hand with our conviction that our Christian unity doesn’t depend on agreement about ethical questions.”

Those who have followed the developments in liberal Protestantism over the past decades may not be surprised with this announcement.  Many of these denominations not only allow women to serve as ministers or pastors (in violation of 1 Timothy 2:8, 11-15; 3:1-2; 1 Corinthians 14:33-37), but they are allowing divorced and remarried preachers to serve (in violation of Matthew 19:9; Mark 10:11-12; Luke 16:18; Romans 7:2-3).  Now, another step has been made: To allow those who are living in gross immorality to officially be pastors of local Lutheran churches.

When a respect for the will of God found in the Word of God is absent, nearly every sin can be justified.  The Word of God is the standard for right and wrong, a moral compass to point in the way we should go (2 Timothy 3:16-17).  The Scriptures are given by God (2 Peter 1:20-21; Hebrews 4:12-13) and we violate God’s Word to our own peril (1 Corinthians 14:37).  Jesus said that those who do not receive His words will be judged on the last day (John 12:48-49).

According to the report, Lutheran unity doesn’t depend on “agreement about ethical questions.”  Yet the Scriptures are clear that Christian unity does depend on morality.  Paul the apostle says that those who are guilty of “fornication” or “sexual immorality” must be entirely separated from Christian fellowship (1 Corinthians 5:1-13, especially verses 1, 11, 13).  The Greek term is porneia, meaning sexual immorality of any kind (fornication, adultery, homosexuality, etc.).  The question is, “Does the Lutheran Church wish to be known as a Christian church?”  If so, it is bound to separate from those who are guilty of open, known, and unrepentant sexual immorality. Christ wants His body to be unified in “ethical questions”—especially matters that pertain to sin and righteousness.

Is this worthy of notice?  Indeed it is.  God is very clear in His word that “fornicators and adulterers God will judge” (Hebrews 13:4).  God will take vengeance on those who are guilty of fornication—including homosexuality (1 Thessalonians 4:4-7).  Those who are guilty of fornication are called “unrighteous” and they “will not inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).  So serious is this that those who are fornicators will suffer the “wrath of God” (Colossians 3:5-6; Ephesians 5:5-6) and will have no inheritance in God’s kingdom (Ephesians 5:5-6).  Finally, the Bible is clear that those who die in fornication and refuse to repent will spend eternity in the lake of fire, which is the second death (Revelation 21:8).

There is no question about what the Word of God says.  The only question is what the liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church in America will do about it: obey it and separate themselves from practicing homosexuals or disobey it and ordain unrepentant homosexuals into the Lutheran pastorate, something that God clearly prohibits.  Years ago, I left the Lutheran Church and would do it again if this issue arose when I was a member.

Richard Hollerman