WELS and doctrine
I listen to VCY and other religious TV shows, YouTube videos, etc. I hear a lot of things like, you can't lose your salvation, the rapture, and other things that are opposite of WELS teaching and beliefs. How is that there can be so many scholars (either well known or late in their years studying the Bible for a whole lifetime ) that agree on most subjects, and yet a small group, like the WELS that teaches differently? Are we to believe that only the WELS/ELS has the correct answers to correct and proper biblical interpretation? Thank you and God bless.
WELS is not the only church body that rejects “the perseverance of the saints” (“once saved, always saved”) or the rapture. Other churches teach from Scripture that Christians can lose their faith (Luke 8:13; 1 Timothy 1:19). Other churches reject the rapture, understanding correctly that the events of 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 occur on the Last Day.
We do not pretend to be the only church whose teachings and practices are biblical. We believe we are holding to the truths of God’s word. If others accuse us of error in doctrine or practice, we are willing and interested to listen, and see what Scripture says about their claims and our confession.
Are there other churches that accurately confess and teach the truths of God’s word? Yes. We praise God for that, and we are very interested in knowing who they are. In fact, our synod’s Commission on Inter-Church Relations is constitutionally charged with “representing the synod in doctrinal discussions with other church bodies who are, or are not, in fellowship with the synod in order to ‘extend and conserve the true doctrine and practice of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.’” Presently we are in fellowship with 31 church bodies throughout the world. You can find information on those churches via this website.