The battles for American Lutheranism and for the LC-MS continues and biblical Lutheranism is losing the war. While Immanuel, Peoria, would prefer to live in peace with our sister congregations, district, and synod (and does live in peace with itself), the Scripture teaches that all Christians are to fight and contend for the Faith. Jude 3-4, "Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ." Lutheranism is in trouble and unless rank and file Lutherans take their God-given duty more seriously, the next few generations will be left with little more than a handful of authentic Lutheran congregations dotting the American landscape.

Biblical Christianity, as set forth in Holy Scripture, is pure theology - - God’s Word. When we faithfully yield to Scripture and govern our churches accordingly, we can be said to be practicing biblical/evangelical Christianity.

But Christians are trapped in history and are often overly influenced by the philosophies and ideas of the world around them. We would do well to The name we have given to this confession is Lutheranism. remember. Col. 2:8 "Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ."

The box below represents the doctrines of Scripture, the Truth according to Jesus Christ. The headings outside the box represent the "philosophy and empty deceit, tradition of men, and basic principles of the world" that have perverted our people’s understanding. When these influences infiltrate the box (which represents the church), the church’s doctrine, practice, and worship is corrupted and war breaks out between the faithful few and those with "itching ears" (ref. 2 Tim. 4:3-4). This is what has happened to the LC-MS and to many of our congregations.

Pastors fell down on the job and allowed the culture to take the church captive. This is why Lutherans are so confused over what it means to be a Lutheran and why so many are hard-pressed to spot the difference between the average Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist, and non-denominational churches. We see this confusion in the fact that many Lutherans think, speak, and act in the same way as other Christians, whose doctrine and practice is wrong and why some services held in many of our sister congregations don’t look or sound very Lutheran. Thus the synod is divided into these various camps.