On August 21st of this year, the 4.8 million member Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)-the largest Lutheran Church body in North America-voted to open its ministry to gay and lesbian pastors living in committed relationships. This action was quickly denounced by our synod (Lutheran Church-Canada) which continues to hold to the Biblical understanding of human sexuality.

The ELCA is not the first church body to adopt a resolution allowing the ordination of practicing homosexuals. It is however one of many denominations that no longer view the Bible as God's authoritative Word, "profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness".

This is the real problem in much of Christendom today. The Bible is no longer viewed as God's very own Word. Instead, it is viewed as words composed by men seeking to maintain their power over others. Whenever a church body reaches this false conclusion, a denial of Scriptural teachings follows. This may include the denial of passages such as Leviticus 18:22 & 20:13; 1 Corinthians 6:9-20; 1 Timothy 1:9-10; and Romans 1:26-27, all of which condemn homosexual behaviour as sin contrary to the will of God. But once again, it is the failure to acknowledge the Bible as the infallible and inerrant Word of God that leads to a faulty teaching regarding human sexuality,. and is therefore the real tragedy and cause for alarm among us

But equally alarming is that many sincere Christians show no true concern about God's Word either. While they may inwardly disagree with what a church declares about the Bible, they nonetheless endorse that church and its false teaching by their attendance there. Such a lack of concern allows churches that deny the inerrancy of the Bible to prosper, and every sort of perversion to flourish.

To say: "I'm just there for the music or for the friends" does not wash. There can be no compromise! If "all Scripture [truly] is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness", then all God's people must go where that truth is taught in its entirety.

In His service,

Pastor Richard A. Frey