It's Time To Leave the ELCA

I believe it is time to leave the denomination that long ago left God. God's Word is true and the ELCA has decided that their thoughts are above God's thoughts. This is evident in many ways that I don't think the typical ELCA member is aware of. Below I outline a number ways the ELCA has turned away from God and deny the very Word of God. The ELCA church, that I am a member of, is in the process of deciding what they will do regarding the ELCA and if they will leave the denomination. If you believe the Bible is God's Word and Jesus is the way to be saved, please stand up and let your voice be heard in your church. And tell others about it. (point them to this website, http://www.exposingtheelca.com if you would like)

After the other night's meeting, and the months of discussions, I wanted to share some thoughts and questions with you. Thank you, and I trust you will do right according to God's word.

The ELCA has continually put their thoughts above God's word and will. The vote on homosexuality is just one piece of evidence to this. One council member, at one time, asked if there are other reasons to leave the ELCA. I, and others, have told you about the other reasons, but the council has never broached the subject again.

- The ELCA is promoting a brand of "universal salvation." The Lutheran Study Bible says, "Jesus includes in salvation people who do not believe in him or even know about him." That is not Biblical. Is this the denomination we want to have ties to?

- This denomination teaches that Jesus did not say what the Bible says He said. Is this the denomination we want to have ties to?

- They date the writings of scripture by seeing when "prophecies are fulfilled" and decide there is no way the writers could know what would happen before hand, so they decide scripture must have been written after the fulfillment. i.e. - God not involved. Is this the denomination we want to have ties to?

- The ELCA does not believe there is prophecy in the Bible! There are hundreds of places where the Bible says there is! Jesus says many times that it does. Some people say over 25% of the Bible is prophetic. Is this the denomination we want to have ties to?

- This denomination has denied God's authorship of the Holy Bible, as evidenced from the listing above. And the Bible even refers to itself as Holy (2 Timothy 3:15). Is this the denomination we want to have ties to?

- The ELCA has taken a stand against Israel. They threaten to stop all financial relations with Israel. They want Jerusalem and parts of Israel given to the Arabs. God gave Israel that land. It states it clearly in the Bible. God confirmed it with Isaac and Jacob that the land was for them. This is against God's will, and it is an action that the Bible warns about. "In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning my inheritance, my people Israel, for they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land." Joel 3:1-2. Is this the denomination we want to have ties to?

- The ELCA supports abortions in their medical coverage. They also actively promote and lobby for the use of public funds for abortions. Is this the denomination we want to have ties to?

- The ELCA and others supporting homosexuality try every kind of theological gymnastic move to make the the Bible mean something other than what it says. They even try this when God so clearly says homosexuality is a sin. They also try to say Revelation is not about prophecy, even when the biblical author writes "The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw--that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ." (Rev. 1:1-2) In reality, what the ELCA is doing is calling the Biblical authors and God, LIERS! Is this the denomination we want to have ties to?

Would you please put on the council's agenda for the next meeting, "other reasons for leaving the ELCA" and discuss those I've brought up.

I believe God's hand was in the writing of the Bible, that God used the writer's style to say what was said, but they were all according to God's will, and truth. The ELCA must not believe this. Now I am sure they have some high-talking explanation and warped definition of "God's Word" that makes them feel better and still hold to their view of picking the parts of the Bible they like and throwing away the rest. If an ELCA seminary student can say, as I heard him say, "The more I learn about the Bible the less I like it," there is something wrong with the denomination's teaching. And it is hard to believe that someone on our council can say "Paul wasn't the son of God . . ." as a way to discredit what Paul wrote. That person, as so many ELCA leaders, must not believe that God inspired all the writings. They are God's words just as much as Paul's.

I have read the quotes of Luther (I list a few below). He believes the Bible is God's word and never erred. How did the ELCA evolve to the view of the Bible they now have? The ELCA isn't even in agreement with its great Christian leader and founder, MARTIN LUTHER!

The ELCA has decided they know better than God on issues and that they know better than the God-inspired writers. We all need to take that very seriously. The Bible speaks about people who were teaching falsely being kicked out of the church. (i.e. the ELCA leaders) Shouldn't our church get as far away as possible from the ELCA's false teachers? We wouldn't stay in relationship/community with Jim Jones would we?

We all need to think and pray long and hard before we choose to follow human ways that contradict God's written word.

On the issue of homosexuality the Bible is clear. Homosexuality is a sin. Someone who is caught in habitual sin, with no attempt to stop, should not be in leadership of God's people. We should not bless people for their sin. We should love them enough to help them out of it. I recommend you all read the Bible verses that speak of homosexuality again. God is clear. And God is God, He should know.

So is the ELCA a denomination you want to be part of? Is this a denomination we want to have a connection to?

While the ELCA assembly was meeting August 19th God sent them a warning, when on a day where meteorologists said there was not going to be any bad weather, there was. God sent a warning in the form of a tornado. Something that hadn't happened in 90 years, took place; a tornado hits in downtown Minneapolis. It damages the buildings the ELCA were meeting in. The day and the hour of the first vote on homosexuality. This is documented fact. Is this a denomination were want to be connected to?

Because of the ELCA's new beliefs and actions, I am embarrassed to be a member of the ELCA. I also can not vote for anything but a complete cutting of ties to the ELCA. Giving money to fund their programs is supporting the ELCA and helping them employ their people and continue there mockery of God's word. A book that Jesus viewed as from God.

Are we a church that is going to stand on God's Word? Will God bless our church if it takes a stand that is against His Word?

P.S. - It you agree with me, please feel free to copy or forward my email on to anyone who maybe interested.

Luther wrote, "The pope boasts that the Christian Church is above the Word of God. No, this is not true! We must be pupils and not aspire to be masters, for the pupil must not be above his master." (LW. 23.231; Q. in Ibid.)

Also, "Years ago all the pope's pronouncements were called Christian truth and articles of faith, yet this was simply based on man. And then it happened that people sank into the abyss and lost everything that pertains to the Word of God and Christ. Therefore, we must now declare: 'Pope, council, and doctors, we will not believe you; but we will believe in the Divine Word." (LW. 23.297; Q. in Ibid.)

"When anything contrary to Scripture is decreed in a council, we ought to believe Scripture rather than the council. Scripture is our court of appeal and bulwark; with it we can resist even an angel from heaven - as St. Paul commands in Galatians 1(:8) - let alone a pope and a council." (LW. 32.81; Q. in Wood, 126)

Luther writes about the Old Testament, "I beg and really caution every pious Christian not to be offended by the simplicity of the language and stories frequently encountered there, but fully realize that, however simple they may seem, these are the very words, works, judgments and deeds of the majesty, power and wisdom of the most high God." (LW 35.236; Q. in Wood)

"The Christian reader should make it his first task to seek out the literal sense, as they call it. For it alone is the whole substance of faith and Christian theology; it alone holds its ground in trouble and trial." (LW. 9.24; Q. in Wood, 164) Luther also said that one. . . "should take pains to have one definite and simple understanding of Scripture and not to be a wanderer and vagabond, like the rabbis, the Scholastic theologians, and the professors of law, who are always toiling with ambiguities." (LW. 8.209; Q. in Ibid.)

"Among Christians the rule is not to argue or investigate, not to be a smart aleck or a rationalistic know-it-all; but to hear, believe, and persevere in the Word of God, through which alone we obtain whatever knowledge we have of God and divine things. We are not to determine out of ourselves what we must believe about him, but to hear and learn it from him." (LW. 13.237; Q. in Wood, 120)

"Luther did believe that much of the conciliar decisions did contain truth, but only in so far as they correspond with the written Word. Luther viewed the fathers in similar fashion. Although Luther quotes the fathers frequently throughout his works, he nevertheless holds their teachings up to the light of Scripture in order to determine their truthfulness. This stance caused some to accuse Luther of rejecting all the past teachers of the Church. Luther denied this accusation, writing, 'I do not reject them. But everyone, indeed, knows that at times they have erred, as men will; therefore, I am ready to trust them only when they give me evidence for their opinions from Scripture, which has never erred.' (LW. 32.11; Q. in Wood, 125) Luther determined to follow the practice of Augustine in these matters, who in a letter to Jerome wrote, 'I have learned to do only those books that are called the Holy Scriptures the honor of believing firmly that none of their writes has ever erred. All others I so read as not to hold what they say to be truth unless they prove it to me by Holy Scripture or clear reason.'" (Epistolae, 82; Q. in LW. 32.189; Q. in Wood, 125)

The truth needs to be told. Fellow members of the ELCA need to know what our denomination is doing. Many people don't know and many people are not willing to take a stand. They need passionate people to lead them out of the denomination and away from the ELCA's continual mockery of God's word.

God Bless you!

Good luck. The ELCA lost me years ago when it caved on abortion. But many ELCA members don't care about these things, they don't like conflict, and they want to be nice to everyone.

Wow, I had no idea that ELCA apostasy went this far. I don’t think anyone who calls themselves a Christian could stay affiliated with this group in good conscience. The Apostle Paul said we should have no fellowship with those who call themselves Christians and behave this way - not to even share a meal with them. The Apostle John said we should not even greet them.

What do you think of professing Christians who are Democrats? That always puzzles me.

The word “evangelical” has died the “death of a thousand qualifiations.” All its meaning has been rubbed off from having been used by so many people in so many different ways.

What do you think of professing Christians who are Democrats? That always puzzles me.

Agreed. It's baffling. It's also how you separate genuine Catholics from make-believe Catholics. No genuine Catholic would vote Democrat, not in a million years.

"The word “evangelical” has died the “death of a thousand qualifiations.” All its meaning has been rubbed off from having been used by so many people in so many different ways."

Yeah, but I don't think anyone has considered any of the liberal mainline denominations "evangelical" for a long, long, time. Your point is still well taken, though. John MacArthur was saying the same thing 15 years ago.

As I told that Missouri Synod Lutheran who was talking trash on the Mormons before Christmas: You need to come home to Rome.

Convert to the Roman Catholic Church.

Its your only hope.

The hour is growing late.

Why are you following some heretical guy who lived 500 years ago in another continent???, when you could be communing at the alter rail of the One True Church: The Roman Catholic Church.

Convert Today!!

Do it for LIFE!!!

Yea! thats how you go gitem slugger!

One Cult to another! LOL...

Our friend, a born-again Christian in a non-denom church, voted FOR Obama. When we queried her, how could she vote for someone who was SO pro-abortion, etc., she said that she would be PRAYING for Obama to change his mind.

That’s how she justified it. Pathetic, I call it.

If he wants eternal life he needs to walk the other way.. as Luther did

There are conservative Lutheran congregations, best he hold on to Luther’s sola fide ...

We call that ‘missionary voting’. But after all she was voting for the ‘hope and change’ goo that Bam bamboozled the masses with-— her included.

There is no way I am staying in the ELCA. Our church votes on leaving in a couple weeks. If they decide to stay in the ELCA, I’m gone. Everyone should do the same.

If he wants eternal life he needs to walk the other way.. as Luther did

There are conservative Lutheran congregations, best he hold on to Luther’s sola fide ...

you are completely wrong...the ELCA is wrong because they distorted Lutheran teachings.....The lutheran teachings were already wrong because they distorted Catholic teachings...the Catholic church was doing just fine, thank you, for over 1,500 years before Luther came along and decided that Christ knew little about religion, luther could do so much better....In my opinion, Martin Luther caused the loss of more souls than any other person in history.....a pathetic person

Independent Fundamental Baptists.......

.....when you absolutely, positively want to get back to the authority of Scripture.

.....when you absolutely, positively want to get back to the authority of Scripture

yeah, right...you are almost 2,000 years late to get to interpret scripture to your own desires. I love the various protestant denominations, thousands of them, all of whom believe a variation of reality....Get back to Catholocism, stop trying to manipulate Christianity to suit your own beliefs...it has worked for a couple of thousand years, still does

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