Nov. 26, 2023

“You Are Forgiven!”

A Sermon on Confession and Absolution

    Confession and Absolution—though it is not a Sacrament—is something that our Church regularly practices. It’s something we do every church service—we confess together as a congregation that we have sinned together “in thought, word, and deed” and we then receive the public proclamation of forgiveness from the pastor: “I [therefore] forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” You see, Confession and Absolution is foundational to the Christian faith. After all, John writes in his first epistle, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). Confession and Absolution, therefore, addresses the unavoidable human dilemma of sin—and more specifically, it addresses the reality that we humans continue to sin each moment of each day. Each of us have so many sins, that it would be impossible to number them. And they are too heavy/burdening for us to bear by ourselves. And so we bring them to God. John continues to write in his epistle, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). THANKS BE TO GOD that He has bore the burden of our sins in Jesus Christ. Whenever we gather together in Confession and Absolution, God speaks forgiveness through the Church! He speaks forgiveness through ordinary people! But as we know from Scripture, when God speaks, THINGS HAPPEN (Genesis 1, Isaiah 55:11, Psalm 33:7, etc.). In Confession and Absolution, the words “you are forgiven!” have power!

Questions:

1.    What is Confession and why is it significant?

2.    What, then, is Absolution and why is it significant?

3.    How does Confession and Absolution impact our daily walk of faith?