Be a Witness for Truth

8/23/2012

An ELCA college student sent me the following letter and gave me permission to share it with you. I praise God for this student and pray God will raise up faithful men and women to stand up with this effort to share God's truth in love.

In first Corinthians 5, Paul writes to God's people concerning sexual immorality, and chastises them for their pride and boasting over something evil. He talks about judgement - not hating or being hypocritical, but keeping those who profess Christ's name accountable to their faith and fellowship. Too often today, Christians that oppose homosexuality and same-sex marriage are too scared to stand up and be a witness for truth, and simply stand back and stay silent. But isn't it amazing how perfectly this chapter of God's Word applies to the current situation in society? I'm tired of waiting for someone to ask me my opinion before being able to voice my opposition. I don't want to be mistaken for a supporter just because I am in an environment where the majority supports this sin. So this year, when my ELCA college puts on its pride week - covering the campus in rainbow flags, putting on presentations and telling stories celebrating one's "coming out," and giving no acknowledgement to the truth of my God's true Word, I want to do more than refuse to participate. I don't want to hate, I want to make a stand. It is something I feel that God has put on my heart, and I write to ask your help in reaching out to those who share my belief in God's Word and want to make a difference to others who may be too scared to reach out and speak the truth in love. I've designed a t-shirt (http://www.customink.com/lab?cid=xak0-000p-trkk#shared) that I plan to wear during my college's "Pride Week" in early October - black for sin and opposite of all the rainbow "love is love" t-shirts the straight-gay alliance on campus will be handing out. I believe that it expresses enough of both the law and gospel to effectively communicate God's opposition and forgiveness without causing offense. I would love to get into contact with anyone else who would be interested in wearing a t-shirt with me, even if it's not the same campus or week or reason. God bless and thank you for reading!

10 Comments

Didaskalos

8/24/2012 03:56:55 am

God bless you, Rebecca, for standing as part of His faithful remnant in an ELCA college whose administrators and faculty councils (as they do at other ELCA colleges) disobey the Lord of the Church, sit in judgment on His Word, and feed the lambs entrusted to them to the wolves.

Concordia's Laodicean statement of belief is the kind of generic pablum issuing from apostate ELCA leadership these days: "As a college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Concordia encourages its students to explore and nurture their personal religious beliefs and use faith and intellect as active partners in finding their vocation. We pride ourselves on creating a social and academic environment where open discussions of faith and spirituality are woven into the fabric of college life. We’re also a diverse, multicultural campus that openly welcomes those with different beliefs."

Martin Luther must have foreseen Concordia and other ELCA colleges on the horizon when he wrote, "If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ.
Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is
proved, and to be steady on all the battlefield besides
is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point."

Leonard Johnson

8/24/2012 04:08:14 pm

I am surprised on learning that there exists an ELCA Concordia College, as all of the Missouri Synod's ten universities/colleges are named Concordia.

Rev. Lori Hoyum

8/25/2012 08:11:03 am

Dear Rebecca,
As a Cobber alum I applaud your courage! Your boldness to stand on God's clear Word reminds me of one of our great hymns: "Lo! The hosts of evil round us Scorn the Christ, assail his ways! From the fears that long have bound us Free our hearts to faith and praise. Grant us wisdom, grant us courage For the living of these days, For the living of these days. Save us from weak resignation To the evils we deplore; Let the gift of your salvation Be our glory evermore. Grant us wisdom, grant us courage, Serving you whom we adore, Serving you whom we adore." (LBW #415, st. 2 & 4)
Keep your focus always on Jesus and salvation paid for with His own precious body and blood! God bless and keep you!

Deborah

8/28/2012 01:09:44 pm

Rebecca, your shirt does -- because the truths on it are straight from God's Word -- communicate God's opposition to sin and His forgiveness for anyone who repents.

The shirt will also cause offense. Paul writes in Galatians about "the offense of the cross." Repenting of sin, allowing Jesus to be Lord, and submitting to God's Word are offensive to those who are determined to create God in their own image and rewrite His Word to accommodate their lifestyles.

In bringing what is an expected and necessary offense for the sake of the cross, be of good cheer. You're in good company. Jesus thoroughly ticked off the religious leaders of His day who were adulterating the Word of God while "teaching as doctrines the commandments of men."

You won't get the praise of the world -- or the praise of the ELCA that's in thrall to the world -- for taking a stand for righteousness, but you will get His praise: "Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

Mark

9/3/2012 01:57:25 pm

I am a Concordia alum and am thrilled to hear that there are those brave enough to do what I was always too afraid to do. During every gay pride week I would shake my head in disgust but would keep my comments to myself because society tells us that it is the "right" thing to do. As our mission as Christians, it is our duty and obligation to GOD to help those who are misdirected. If we do not, we are sinning ourselves. I want to applaud Rebecca for her courage to stand up for what is right and for upholding her Christian obligations. If I am to respect those who are in favor of homosexuality, I must also respect those who are opposed and I respect Rebecca. Concordia must respect opinions on both sides of the spectrum including the fact that there are just as many people not wearing the "love is love" t-shirts who do not agree with gay pride week.

Lisa

9/17/2012 10:26:45 am

I also am a Concordia alum, something I used to be proud of. But the Concordia I knew 25 years ago, is not the Concordia of today. As with the ELCA. I am so very proud of you Rebecca for standing up and doing this. Stay strong in your conviction as you will be "pounded" by the opposition. Take support from those who share your beliefs, even if they are strangers to you.

Pam

10/30/2012 03:30:08 pm

I am so grateful for your courage to stand for the Word! We are keeping you in our prayers!

Jeanette

11/20/2012 05:08:19 am

I admire your courage. I smiled when I read the words on your shirt. Few words, but to the point and wise.

Not only have our TV dramas and shows been pushing "gay is okay" in our face, but now it is in the lyrics my son hears from his favorite artists, and that scroll on his computer. It is showing up in the books my favorite authors write. I will not watch a tv show without recording it first so we can fast forward as needed, even in my children's favorite shows. I had to skip several pages in the last two books I got from the library because they were inappropriate, no advance warning on the book jacket. I no longer rent movies from the video store because there are all kinds of warnings about Christianity being in a movie on the jacket in case it would offend someone. Yet, no warning of offensive homosexuality is anywhere on the movie jacket.

I get tired of having to stop watching a movie, that has homosexual themes thrown in for no good reason and nothing to do with the movie. I have quit watching several right before the end of the movie, hit the stop button in front of my kids and returned to the video store without watching the rest of it.

It is everywhere in our society and those who speak up about the harm it does to families are dismissed and discounted. I have been speaking up.

One of the educators at school was talking favorably about homosexuality. I said I see them as predators, preying on our children. She was shocked that I would dare say such a thing, but it needs to be said. So, for now, I speak up when it is in my face.

I refuse to donate any money to any organization that goes along with it or promotes it, Christian or Non-christian. I also told our ELCA church in June 2009 that if they did this, I would no longer give my tithe to them but to other Christian organizations doing God's work instead. Their response was can't you continue to give until the August 2009 assembly. By July our pasteur was peaching so many things from the pulpit that were counter to God's bible, I could not bear to sit in the pew and listen to it any longer. I pulled my family out of the ELCA and joined the Lutheran Missouri Synod Church.

I spoke to the ELCA Church council but they said let us agree to disagree, which was not acceptable to me. The pasteur and council did their best not to let many in the Congregration know what the issues being voted on really were all about. Our ELCA church had a lot of older members that thought like I did about this issue and they did not want to open any of it up for discussion with the older church members. Many of our older members were already angry about the $750,000 debt our church had run up. The church was debt free when those members contributed to the building of the church, and irresponsible spending went hand in hand with teachings that were counter to God's bible. I noticed lately, more and more people are joining our Lutheran Missouri Synod Church. The pasteur is not afraid to peach about sin from the pulpit. The service book is not gender neutral. We read from revelations and support Israel. He is a good pasteur and I wish there were more like him.

Keep putting this information out here. A faithful reader from Dixon, Illinois.

Henry

11/21/2012 03:31:06 am

Here's what I see: "As a college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. . .We pride ourselves on . . ." They all but left out the prevailing sentiment of the look-at-how-loving-we-are-and-how-bigoted-they-are crowd, which is: "Thank you, God, that we are not like those other 'Lutherans' over there!" For like most ELCA institutions nowadays, Concordia finds it so much easier to simply shower its blessings upon everything and put God's Grace to a Foolish Test rather than have the humility to submit itself to the tragedy of Christ's truth that sometimes, only one sinner returns home justified!

Leslie

12/13/2012 12:34:01 pm

Praise God! You see the Truth! I'm very curious if you have anymore stories with your opened heart to the truth of His Word vs. the ELCA. I was raised as a ELCA church member. I would still be attending if I wouldn't have accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior. Since then, I read the Bible often. God's words amazing! Each time that I attend my home church (while seeing family), I see red flags each time. Thank you for posting this message online. I looked online for websites like this one to help me to open up with my family back at home. I desire to be His disciple with the Truth!

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Dan Skogen

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