“I believe in . . . the holy Christian church, the communion of saints.” I do not believe in the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. I love this church body dearly. I love that God’s Word is taught in its truth and purity. I love our focus on teaching sin and grace and not a “social gospel.” I love the fact that my scattered family can worship on Sunday in different churches and yet hear the same precious gospel message.

Still, I do not believe in the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Would you have imagined 50 years ago that one church body would ordain homosexual bishops? And others openly deny creation and the inerrancy of Scripture? Could this happen in WELS? Yes, it could. The church I belong to may change, and I may have to leave it. That is why I do not believe in the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.

The invisible church

I believe in the holy Christian church, the communion of saints, even though I cannot see it except through the eyes of faith. Only God knows those who belong to him (2 Timothy 2:19). In the visible church, there will always be those who only pretend to believe. They will make trouble for God’s people and even persecute those who preach the gospel.

Yet, the enemies of God’s church will fail. God’s church is built on an immovable foundation. “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:19,20). Wherever God’s Word is taught and Jesus is taught to be the Savior, there God’s church will be, because God’s Word does not return to him empty (Isaiah 55:10,11).