Confession of Sins and Absolution

Lent Midweek 2018

February 28, 2018

Zion Lutheran Church + Nampa, ID

Tonight we consider a third godly habit, that of Confession of sins and absolution.  From hearing the word to speaking the Word back to the Lord, this then shapes how we view things and how we act as Christians.

Responsive “if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But... if we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  We know these words because we have heard them countless times, we have prayed them just as often, and that habit shapes us into doing them. It leads us to the realization of that the truth that we are sinful and unclean, we sin against God in thought word and deed by what we have done and by what we left undone. To confess our sins is to acknowledge before God the truth that He has spoken about us in His Word, our sins, and what our sins have deserved and demanded.

When we confess that we are by nature sinful, we are saying what the Word of God declares us to be true about our fallen human nature. We are sinful by nature.  But we must be careful here in what that means. While we are sinful by nature, our human nature is not itself sin. Christ did not assume sin when He became man. But He did assume a human nature. He redeemed and healed our human nature. At His return, He will glorify our nature by raising our bodies from the dead and making them incorruptible.

Think of it more in these terms. Sin is like a cancer that has spread throughout our human nature. Cancer isn’t the body, but it is a corruption in the body. In the same way, sin corrupts our nature. The sin infects us, but it is not us. This corruption is not something that results from us sinning, but rather the sin that shows up in our lives is caused by this cancer.  We sin because we are sinners.

Sin corrupts our nature and shows up in the various sins of our lives. And they all have one things in common: they all want God out of the picture. We want to be God. We want our will to be done.  This also helps to explain why bad things and evil happens in the world. How can someone shoot up a school? How can a person treat someone else less than human? How could the holocaust happen, or war, or abortion, or good people do bad things.

Normally, when talking about habits and disciples of the Christian life, the issues that are being dealt with are the sins and the good character traits.  While these things are fine in and of themselves, that’s not what we’re talking about here.  The bad habits are just the symptom, as the good habits are just the result.  The real issue is deeper, it is one of the corrupt human nature and the medicine of eternal life. That is how Luther can say in his Large Catechism that when one is urged to go to confession, he is simply urged to be a Christian.

In John 8:31-32 Jesus said, “If you abide in My word, You are My disciples. You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” Abiding in the Word of God makes you see the truth. The first part of the truth is the revelation of our sin. The Law accuses us of our sinfulness. And the second part of that truth is the revelation of our Savior. The Gospel shows us Jesus and what He has done for sinners.  That is all wrapped up in Confession and Absolution.

Confession is of the things that people who are not used to a liturgical service often wonder about.  There are only a few other instances where a group of people get together and begin with such a blunt reality check, and most of those, like addiction support groups, do it because of Christian influence.  Together, we own up to the truth about ourselves. We don’t always confess our individual sins, but we confess the deeper issue – our innate sinfulness.  It’s a harsh reality, but it’s not the last word. Because there is a deeper truth than the one that we speak about ourselves. It is the truth that God speaks to us about Himself and what He has done to the sinful corruption inside us. It is the absolution, the pronouncement that God justifies the sinner, declaring him or her to be righteous in His sight.

Confession, then, is asking for something that only God can give. It is not something we give ourselves. Absolution always comes to us from the outside, received as a gift. The pastor stands in the stead, in the place of, Christ and by His command to simply be His mouthpiece, the voice that declares God’s truth. The absolution is not partial, it is total. It is as sweeping and complete as the confession.  All sins owed up, all sins forgiven. Anchored in the universal atonement of our Savior, who by His blood shed upon the cross has won forgiveness for the entire world.  The absolution is one of the methods that the Lord delivers that forgiveness.  It’s not words that applied to a sin, but applied to sinners.

We take this habit of confessing our sins and receiving forgiveness into our homes and our lives. There’s no more personal place where this is lived out than with our families. Husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, do not go to sleep at night when unresolved or unforgiven sin is between you.

We closed by going through the confession and absolution found in Compline LSB 254

Your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.