"The Working Theology of the ELCA is Universalism"

3/23/2011

Universalism is a teaching that is widely held in the ELCA. (see here) It is very apparent to anyone who isn’t blindly loyal to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church (Richfield, WI) is in the process of voting to leave the ELCA. I would like to direct you to a document they produced in which they answered this question, “Has the ELCA really changed the basic message of the Christian faith?”

Here is Shepherd of the Hills Church's answer:

“While the official teaching of the ELCA is sound,
the actual teaching seen in our seminaries, church
publications, and pronouncements by pastors and
leaders is often very different. Gradually, the ELCA
has de‐emphasized the basic message of sin,
repentance, faith, and salvation through Jesus
Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross, and on
Easter, victory over Satan and death (2nd Timothy
1:10). In its place, we read and hear several
alternative messages.

One popular ELCA message is the gospel of
affirmation. This teaching suggests that the good
news is that God loves and affirms everyone,
regardless of their faith, life style choices, etc.
There never is a need for real repentance because
God is never angry with us. Another misleading
teaching common in ELCA sources says that Jesus
hgives us the example, and the Holy Spirit gives us
the power, to build the Kingdom of God on earth ‐
‐ by fighting hunger and poverty, promoting
peace, fighting racism, sexism, hetero‐sexism, and
other oppressions, and building brotherhood and
sisterhood on earth by honoring all sincere faiths
as paths to God.

The ELCA has lost focus on our five‐hundred year
old Law/Gospel balance by over‐focusing on the
Gospel (Saved by Grace ‐ Eph. 2:8) at the expense
of the Law (The 10 Commandments). The classic
view is that the Law convicts us of our sin and the
Gospel is the good news that God saves us from
the punishment we deserve by the sacrificial
death of Christ. Grace is defined as “undeserved
love.” Today grace is being redefined to say that
God is always affirming us, and nothing else. This
distorts a biblical understanding of love, where
love includes the “tough love” that prunes our
rebellious hearts into greater Christ‐likeness.
We find evidence for this in the fact that most
ELCA produced Sunday school curriculum,
catechism materials, adult bible studies, the
Lutheran magazine, ELCA website, etc., fail to
plainly explain that we are sinners, doomed to
death, unless we receive Christ with faith. This
shows us that the working theology of the ELCA is
universalism – blanket salvation for everyone,
regardless of whether they know Christ.”

(See here)

Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church will be taking their second vote on leaving the ELCA June 2011.

3 Comments

Bret

3/29/2011 08:46:34 am

To quote from the Shepard of the Hills Church's response:

"ELCA produced Sunday school curriculum,
catechism materials, adult bible studies, the
Lutheran magazine, ELCA website, etc., fail to
plainly explain that we are sinners, doomed to
death, unless we receive Christ with faith"

It was said in the quote that ELCA materials should state that we are sinners, doomed to death, unless we receive Christ with faith.

Well, the facts show that we all are doomed to death whether we have faith or no faith. We all die. Faith has no bearing on getting out of dying. Everyone faces death, the saved and the unsaved.

Also, Jesus died for the sins of ALL mankind, not some of mankind or a few of mankind but ALL of mankind. Did Jesus fail in His mission when He suffered and died for ALL? If only a few make it are we saying that Jesus had about a 2% success rate? If so, He was a miserable failure. I believe HE had a 100% success rate.

Are we not ALL children of God? Isn't GOD love? Doesn't God love us ALL? I would not consider for a second sending my son or daughter to an eternal pit of torture, no matter what they may do. I love them and will always love them. I will never leave them or forsake them. I am just a mere human scum bag and I can muster up enough love to forgive. Surely God, who is love, must love ALL sinners and His plan to save us through the sacrifice HIS SON was not in vain. God commands us to love our enemies so to keep His own command He must love us even if we are against Him.

On another point, God's word plainly states that it is God's will that ALL be saved. You may say that we have a choice and we can "will" to deny Jesus or God. If so, does man's will dominate over God's will? If we say yes then we are elevating man above God. If God wills that ALL be saved and Jesus died for ALL mankind who is brave enough (or dumb enough) to say that Jesus failed and God's will for HIS children was overruled by man's will? Both Father and Son failed. Man won.

I think God has a plan for the salvation of ALL. He is a consuming fire and He will purify us and burn the chaff out of our souls. Some may take longer than others but eventually EVERY KNEE WILL BOW. The burning process is a spiritual process since it happens after we die and we do not have our new bodies. So God's love will purify even the worst of the worst. I know that is hard for some folks to accept but with God, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE.

Dan Skogen link

3/29/2011 10:10:32 am

Hi Bret,

Thanks for your comments. I disagree with you thoughts on salvation, as does most of Christianity throughout history.

The Bible, in other words God, says . . .

Revelation 20:15 - And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

Revelation 21:8 - But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.

2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 - All this is evidence that God's judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.

John 3:36 - Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him.

Matt 25:46 - Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.

Romans 10:9-10 - That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

John 3:16-18 - For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

John 1:12 - But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.

Romans 3:21 - But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe.

Daniel 12:1-2 - Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.

2 Peter 2:4,9 - For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment...then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment.

John 8:24 - Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.

Mark 3:28–29 - Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.

Matthew 12:32 - Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.

Matt. 7:13-14 - Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it,

Matt. 22:14 - For many are called, but few are chosen,

Luke 13:22-27 - Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, "Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?" He said to them, "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, 'Sir, open the door for us.' "But he will answer, 'I don't know you or where you come from.' "Then you will say, 'We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.' "But he will reply, 'I don't know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!'

Ruth

11/12/2011 01:20:23 am

I've just become aware of the teaching on Universal salvation recently. I am trying to figure it out. In my old King James Bible Jesus says in John 14:2 "In my father's house are many mansions:if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." I've always been taught that I had to believe in Jesus death on the cross to be saved. However I always worried that my non-Christian friends might be lost. Could it be that only Christians have to believe in Jesus ? Could the other mansions be other ways ? If so I hope there is a little window I can open so I can say "Hi" to my Christian Science mother in law and my Jewish daughter in law. I would like to throw in a place for all the beloved animals too so I can pet my kitties and my husband can be reunited with the dogs.

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"The Working Theology of the ELCA is Universalism"

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Dan Skogen

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