The Absolution

 

A or D: The preacher of the church has a peculiar power - given by God - to forgive people their sins. 

 

Catechism: The use of the keys is that special power and right which Christ gave to his CHURCH ON EARTH, to forgive the sins of penitent sinners, but to refuse forgiveness to the impenitent as long as they do not repent.

 

The basis for the Keys -

John 20:21‑23 Again Jesus said, APeace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.@ And with that he breathed on them and said, AReceive the Holy Spirit.  If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.@

 

The doctrinal basis of the absolution rests on the following facts -

1.                  Christ took on Himself all sins of every sinner, counting them as His own.

2.                  By his life, suffering, and death Christ has wiped out the record of the world=s sin and procured forgiveness of all sins.  No man living is excepted from this plan.

3.                  By raising Jesus from the dead, God the Father confirmed the work of redemption which Christ finished on the cross.

4.                  By his command to preach the Gospel to every creature, Christ commanded at the same time to preach forgiveness of sins to all men.

5.                  Christ commanded His apostles and their successors to minister to each individual who desires this comfort: AYou are reconciled to God.@  For if forgiveness of sins has been purchased for all, it has been purchased for each individual.  Therefore, if we may offer it to all, we may offer it to each individual.  As a matter of fact, we are commanded to do this.  If we don=t we are only servants of Moses and not of Christ.

6.                  Now that forgiveness of sins has been purchased and won, not only a minister but every Christian is commissioned to proclaim it.  It is not a question of what man must do, but what has been done by Christ.  If God had not commanded it, it would be invalid.  But God has commanded it.  At absolution we preach nothing but what has happened. 

(Example - if employee of IRS writes letter saying your taxes are no longer owed - don=t say I want to hear from George Bush.)

Walther: The Augsburg Confession wants us to regard absolution, not as the word of a human being who happens to pronounce the same, but as the word of God forgiving men=s sins.  The announcement by a minister to a poor sinner, AThy sins are forgiven thee,@ are tantamount to God=s pronouncing those words.  For the minister absolves, not because he is a peculiar personage possessing extraordinary power, but because God has commanded that in His name and in His stead men=s sins be forgiven them.  It makes no difference whether God or a minister makes this announcement.  (Law and Gospel: 172)

 

How many of you regard the absolution in this way? 

Do you realize what YOU then have the ability to do? 

How does the Lord=s Prayer reflect this? 

 

Apply this to the way you handle an apology.  Do you say -

T                  it=s no big deal (maybe not to you - but to person who offended - enough to say AI=m sorry.@)

T                  we all make mistakes (doesn=t make me feel better about what I=ve done.)

T                  well, I hope you learned a lesson from this (more law)

T                  I forgive you (sweet gospel)

 

Without this conclusion, what happens to all confession? 

Think about how a comedian, for instance, deals with his sins. 

It works like the 5^th Petition - AForgive us our trespasses.@  Luther says, ANot as though He did not forgive sin without and even before our prayer (for He has given us the Gospel, in which is pure forgiveness before we prayed or ever thought of it).  But this is to the intent that we may recognize and accept such forgiveness.@  Walther remarks, AThe object of this petition is not to show that there is no forgiveness until we pray for it, but to remind us of the fact that it lies ready for us and that this fact is to strengthen our faith.  (176)

 

This differs from the Catholic Church.  It declares that a priest has the power to absolve because of his ordination as a priest - having been anointed.  It also declares that the power of the absolution lies in three parts -

T                  The oral confession (if any omission = entire confession invalid )

T                  The heartfelt contrition (have to be sorrowful enough / Catholics allow for ATRITION - the want to be sorry - but not wanting to quit sin - count that as ok!)

T                  The compensation for wrong done by the performance of some good work

 

What does this turn confession into? 

 

True or False: Contrition must precede faith. 

Here=s why -

Proverbs 27:7 He who is full loathes honey, but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet.

Matthew 9:12‑13 On hearing this, Jesus said, AIt is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: >I desire mercy, not sacrifice.= For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.@  (Where there is no spiritual hunger, a person has no interest in the Savior of sinners.)

Evaluate this confession.  After having been confronted on a sin the member says, AYes, I admit that we have had sex a few times.  I know other people who have as well.  At least I=m honest about it.  Overall our relationship isn=t about the sex.  We are still committed to each other and to Jesus and still want to come to church.@ 

 

Another member comes to you and says, AI=m sorry that I badmouthed you to another member.  Will you forgive me?@  The offended member says, Athat=s it?  You expect me to say I forgive you just because you ask for it?@ 

 

There are some that try to prescribe the quality of confession from the Bible -

Psalm 38:6‑8 I am bowed down and brought very low; all day long I go about mourning. My back is filled with searing pain; there is no health in my body. I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart.

Psalm 6:7‑8 My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes. Away from me, all you who do evil, for the LORD has heard my weeping.

 

So they say, Aif you haven=t gone through these things - you aren=t really sorry for your sins.@ They withhold forgiveness because the penitent didn=t meet their standards.  What=s wrong with this? 

Consider David and Nathan -

Look at 2 Samuel 12:1-14.    What did Nathan do immediately? 

Did this mean there weren=t results to his sin? 

Walther says that one of the principal reasons many don=t want to pronounce forgiveness is because they fail to distinguish between the daily repentance of Christians and the repentance that precedes faith.  He says, Athe great majority of sincere Christians who have the pure doctrine have a keener experience of repentance AFTER faith than of repentance PRIOR to faith.  (254)

 

How did David prove this? 

Luther: The recognition of sin is not the prime reason which merits the forgiveness of sin.  For sin is sin and deserves punishment by its very nature, whether you acknowledge it or do not acknowledge it.  But the acknowledging of sin is a sort of co-requisite, because God wants to forgive sins to those who acknowledge them.  (WLS I:322)

 

Walther: We read that David, after receiving absolution, still had to suffer a great deal of anguish.  But his penitential psalms are at the same time a confession of his assurance that God was gracious to him.  (386)

 

Proverbs 28:13 He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.  (THIS IS THE KEY COG to confession.)

 

How will the pastor assure a penitent sinner of his forgiveness?

He will say, AAccording to the command of our Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive you your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.@

 

Notice again, what does the Catechism state as the basis for forgiveness? 

Think of how many times Jesus pronounced a seemingly radical absolution throughout His ministry -

1.                  Mark 2:5‑7 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ASon, your sins are forgiven.@ Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, AWhy does this fellow talk like that? He=s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?@

2.                  Luke 7:37 When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee=s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, Luke 7:39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, AIf this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she isCthat she is a sinner.@ Luke 7:44‑49 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, ADo you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgivenCfor she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.@ Then Jesus said to her, AYour sins are forgiven.@ The other guests began to say among themselves, AWho is this who even forgives sins?@

3.                  John 8:10‑11 Jesus straightened up and asked her, AWoman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?@ ANo one, sir,@ she said. AThen neither do I condemn you,@ Jesus declared. AGo now and leave your life of sin.@

4.                  Luke 19:9‑10 Jesus said to him, AToday salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.@  (Zacchaeus)

 

What effect did this have on the Pharisees? 

What effect did it have on the sinners? 

 

Again, why does God absolve sinners?