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Divine Forgiveness - Part I
I’ve spent a lot of time since coming to Messiah Lutheran Church on the topic of the purpose of the church. Perhaps the Large Catechism says it best:
“ Therefore everything in the Christian church is so ordered that we may daily obtain full forgiveness of sins through the Word and through signs appointed to comfort and revive our consciences as long as we live.” Large Catechism, The Creed, Art. III, Tappert
In other words, our purpose as a Christian congregation is to forgive sins in Jesus' name through Word and “signs,” that is, the Sacraments.
This Lent we are introducing one of wonderful ways that God does His work for forgiveness in our midst, namely, individual confession and absolution.
When we hear the words “confession and absolution,” for most of us that brings to mind the beginning of the Divine Service, where we confess our sins together before God, and God through the mouth of the pastor forgives our sins for the sake of Jesus Christ. This is certainly confession and absolution. We call that the general confession.
But when the Catechism speaks about confession & absolution, it is not talking about general or public confession and absolution. It is talking about individual confession and absolution.
This surprised me when I first learned of it. Think again, though, to the words of the Catechism:
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What is Confession?
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Confession has two parts. First, that we confess our sins, and second, that we receive absolution, that is, forgiveness, from the pastor as from God Himself, not doubting, but firmly believing that by it our sins are forgiven before God in heaven. |
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What sins should we confess?
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| Before God we should plead guilty of all sins, even those we are not aware of, as we do in the Lord’s Prayer; but before the pastor we should confess only those sins which we know and feel in our hearts. |
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Which are these?
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Consider your place in life according to the Ten Commandments: Are you a father, mother, son, daughter, husband, wife, or worker? Have you been disobedient, unfaithful, or lazy? Have you been hot-tempered, rude, or quarrelsome? Have you been hurt by your words or deeds? Have you stolen, been negligent, wasted anything, or done any harm? |
Notice how very concrete this list is above. When God deals with sin, he is not looking at stuff out there somewhere. He looks at your heart. He looks at who you are as a sinner and how that sinful nature (we call original sin) manifests itself in your life.
Remember our purpose, though. It isn’t about listing off all of our sins like a laundry list. If that were the case we’d be here until the end of time! No, the purpose is to forgive sins and to comfort troubled consciences.
In other words, the point is the absolution, or forgiveness. The Apology of the Augsburg Confession says it well:
“For we also keep confession, especially because of absolution, which is the Word of God that the power of the keys proclaims to individuals by divine authority. It would therefore be wicked to remove private absolution from the church.” (Apology XII, p. 99 Triglotta)
Strong words, but they point out the seriousness and the incredible gifts that God has to give by confessing our sins and having God fling them into the depth of the sea.
So why go to individual confession and absolution? Because God wants to forgive your sins. It is his promise to you for the sake of Jesus Christ.
Join us on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 PM as we consider God’s Gift of Forgiveness in Individual Confession & Absolution. We will be praying the Penitential Psalms and learning from the Catechism. After the service Individual Confession & Absolution will be available to those who wish it.
Pastor Peperkorn
From the March 2001 Messiah’s Messenger
This page was created on 02/03/2007 and last edited on: 02/03/2007