Called before kings—pray for finland for america!

Word from the Center
Written By Dr. Gregory Seltz

By now you may have heard of two Finnish citizens, Bishop Juhana Pohjola and Cabinet Minister Päivi Räsänen. If you haven’t, you need to know their names. Why? They are about to be put on trial in Finland for the crime of teaching marriage and sexual fidelity from a biblical perspective. The trial date is January 24, 2022. Yes, the Bible is now considered “hate speech” in Finland, a Western country, home to my maternal grandparents, Rudy and Elizabeth Kilponen. They would be aghast at what has become of their homeland, which is now publicly declaring war on Christians for actually being Christian, faithful to the Word of God for the sake of others. When libertinism overcomes liberty in a culture, when equity of outcome replaces equality of access, when governments start to dictate even the thoughts of people rather than limiting their coercive, curbing power to people’s outward, unruly, actions alone, one gets the kind of “secular blasphemy laws” of Finland. Such laws not only curb dissent, but they also eventually attack the Bible’s claim to be the moral conscience of a civilized people.  

“Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s” (Matthew 22). Yes. But what happens when Caesar gets out of his lane? When that happens, Christians tend to find themselves in the uncomfortable, even terrifying position of being “called before Kings” who demand an accounting before their temporal thrones. Such is the case for Bishop Pohjola and Cabinet member Räsänen. In my radio interview of Bishop Pohjola, which aired in Washington, D.C. at 12:30 p.m. January 15 on WFAX radio, 1220AM/100.7FM you’ll hear a man whose convictions are unmoved, whose gentle countenance professes the call to love others the way that God in Christ loves us. That includes speaking God’s “no” and God’s “yes” on God’s terms for others no matter the cost to us. When Jesus reminds us in Matthew 10 to: 

be on guard against people, for they will hand you over to the courts and flog you in their synagogues; and you will even be brought before governors and kings on My account, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given you in that hour….

He calls us to diligence and courage. Christ also offers us “calm amidst the storm” and “peace that passes all understanding.” Those blessings are even now manifest in the lives of Bishop Pohjola and Cabinet Minister Räsänen. Amazingly they count it a blessing to be able to give a testimony of God’s love in Christ amidst such ridiculous charges.

For those of us in America, now is the time to pray for our brothers and sisters around the globe who are being persecuted merely for being faithful Christians. Now is the time to also “be on our guard” here in America, to put to work our constitutional liberties to protect the right and the responsibility to proclaim the whole counsel of God publicly for our culture and for the mission of the Church. But if the “secular blasphemy laws” eventually make it here too (see the nefarious “Equality Act” as a potential example), we, too, must rest in the promise of Christ that even then He will provide the words so that our testimony might be about Him even for those who would seek to criminalize Christ himself from our culture.

My prayer for Bishop Pohjola and Cabinet Minister Räsänen is also my prayer for you, our country, and our churches. I pray that Finland come to its senses and drop this egregious action against Christ’s Church, Christ’s people. I pray such a prayer not only for the protection of the Church but also for the very culture of the Finnish people. But if the Finnish government does not relent, I pray that at this “Daniel in the lion’s den” moment for Pohjola and Räsänen, that the mouths of the Finnish lions be shut. And, if it becomes a “fiery furnace of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego moment,” that the scorching fires of this government’s pernicious unfaithfulness not touch them but blow back on the misguided leaders of a culture that is fast losing its way. And, finally, no matter the outcome, I pray for Pohjola and Räsänen’s ability to testify to the truths of the Bible so that all might indeed hear and believe in the God who created, ordered, and redeemed us as His own. Will you pray for them with me? God bless them, and God bless us as we do.

The Rev. Dr. Gregory Seltz is the executive director of the Lutheran Center for Religious Liberty.

Be Informed

Learn more about how Finland is taking a “turn toward soft authoritarianism in the public square” by clicking here for an article from Tim Goeglein of Focus on the Family.

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See Also
LGBTQ+ = Subverting the Created Order
LGBTQ+ = Subverting the Created Order

“The LGBTQ community." What other sin is talked this way? Is there a murdering community? A gossiping community? Since when does an alliance in sin spoken of in such positive terms? But this community is one that speaks lies that lead to the destruction of the family and to loneliness and isolation.

 

Typically, when attempting to cloud the issue, we are told that questions concerning sex and gender are "complicated." Really, it isn't. God created us male and female. The confusion arises from the deceptive ideology that pushes it. We are told that detransitioners are extremely rare. Have they not met and talked with those in the growing detransition community? We have members who have been lied to and have escaped the clutches of the deceivers, though they are not unscathed medically or emotionally. We are told that trans people do not simply decide to be trans. But they mention nothing of the work of Abigail Shrier and many others who have clearly demonstrated that the transgender phenomenon is a social contagion, especially now among women, an ideology that is spread by the secular left and through destructive influencers on social media.

April 2026 Bulletin Insert
April 2026 Bulletin Insert

The Bulletin Insert is designed to be printed and cut in half to fit conveniently inside a Sunday worship bulletin. Each month an insert will offer insight, encouragement, and information from the LCRL on the topics of Religious Liberty, Life, Marriage, or Education.

April 2026 Bulletin Blurbs
April 2026 Bulletin Blurbs

The dates identifying the LCRL bulletin blurbs are only suggestions. Please feel free to use any and all of the bulletin blurbs as your ministry needs allow.

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ALIVE AS CHILDREN OF HIS LIGHT!

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For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth).

Marriage: Conforming Couples to Christ’s Image
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Today’s verses are John 4:10-14, where the Bible recounts Jesus’ conversation with a Samaritan woman at a well.

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March 2026 Prayer Partner Thursday
March 2026 Prayer Partner Thursday

Prayer Partner Thursday provides a month-long prayer emphasis in one of the four Lutheran Center for Religious Liberty areas of emphasis: Religious Liberty, Sanctity of Life, Educational Freedom, and Marriage as an Institution (family).

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For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

Constantine the Great: Hero of Luther and Exemplary Christian Ruler
Constantine the Great: Hero of Luther and Exemplary Christian Ruler

Luther grounded his understanding of civil government and its duties toward God in creation, teaching that rulers are a type of father. In the Large Catechism he wrote, “Thus we have two kinds of fathers presented in this commandment, fathers in blood and fathers in office, or those to whom belongs the care of the family, and those to whom belongs the care of the country. Besides these there are yet spiritual fathers.” Luther recognized the universal responsibility of all mankind to acknowledge and serve God in accordance with one’s particular station. All earthly rulers, whether of Israelite or Gentile nations, were expected to follow God’s Word. If they did not serve the Lord, like emperors Nero and Domitian, they would be held guilty by Him. Luther maintained a consistently positive estimation of Constantine and other Christian rulers throughout his writings — especially their aid in resisting the grasping tyranny of the papacy. He held up David and the other faithful kings of Israel as examples of the universal duty of rulers to acknowledge and serve God.

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I’ve also sometimes struggled, I’ll confess, to reconcile my own civic duty to honor our nation’s flag with my Christian call to “fear, love and trust in God above all things.” The melody blaring from a speaker mounted high upon a tower reminds me eerily of church bells “chiming and calling” Christians to Sunday worship (LSB 645), or of a muezzin summoning Muslims to daily prayer. Although colors isn’t meant to be a spiritual act of devotion, the striking resemblance it bears to such ancient religious practices is hard to ignore. 

March 2026 Bulletin Insert
March 2026 Bulletin Insert

The Bulletin Insert is designed to be printed and cut in half to fit conveniently inside a Sunday worship bulletin. Each month an insert will offer insight, encouragement, and information from the LCRL on the topics of Religious Liberty, Life, Marriage, or Education.

March 2026 Bulletin Blurbs
March 2026 Bulletin Blurbs

The dates identifying the LCRL bulletin blurbs are only suggestions. Please feel free to use any and all of the bulletin blurbs as your ministry needs allow.

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February 2026 Prayer Partner Thursday
February 2026 Prayer Partner Thursday

Prayer Partner Thursday provides a month-long prayer emphasis in one of the four Lutheran Center for Religious Liberty areas of emphasis: Religious Liberty, Sanctity of Life, Educational Freedom, and Marriage as an Institution (family).

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"Called by God, to boast in Him"

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Demanding Your Highest Allegiance

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February 2026 Bulletin Insert
February 2026 Bulletin Insert

The Bulletin Insert is designed to be printed and cut in half to fit conveniently inside a Sunday worship bulletin. Each month an insert will offer insight, encouragement, and information from the LCRL on the topics of Religious Liberty, Life, Marriage, or Education.

February 2026 Bulletin Blurbs
February 2026 Bulletin Blurbs

The dates identifying the LCRL bulletin blurbs are only suggestions. Please feel free to use any and all of the bulletin blurbs as your ministry needs allow.

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SIMPLE. POWERFUL. STRAIGHT TALK FOR YOUR HEART AND SOUL.

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Luther’s “Wise Turk” Quote That He Didn’t Say

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2026: Restoring Faith, Realizing Protections

As 2025 ends, as faithful Lutherans, there is much to be thankful for as we have seen many positive developments for faith and freedom.

Pregnancy resource centers are booming while Planned Parenthood clinics are closing their doors. It looks like we are beginning to see a spiritual revival among young adults as they reject the emptiness of the culture they see around them. And several states have passed common-sense age verification laws, upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, to protect innocent children from accessing graphic pornography online.

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Dr. Gregory Seltz
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