CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION

Confession has two parts.

First, we confess our sins. We acknowledge that God is right and that we have sinned against Him in thought, word, and deed.

Second, and most importantly, we receive absolution. Absolution is the forgiveness spoken by the pastor in the name and by the command of Jesus Christ.

Confession is not complete if it leaves the sinner staring only at guilt. Its goal is the Gospel.

The center of confession is not what we say about ourselves. The center is what Christ says to us:

“I forgive you all your sins.”

We do not confess because God lacks information. He already knows our sins more completely than we do.

We confess because sin separates, deceives, and destroys. Unconfessed sin often grows beneath secrecy and self-justification. It damages relationships, burdens consciences, and turns us inward.

Confession brings sin into the light of God’s Word. It strips away excuses and gives us a concrete place to stop hiding.

We do not confess in order to negotiate with God or persuade Him to be merciful. We confess because Christ has already borne our sin and promises mercy to repentant sinners.

God does not expose our sin so that He can abandon us. He exposes it so that He can forgive us.

Absolution is the spoken forgiveness of Jesus Christ.

After His resurrection, Jesus breathed upon His disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven.” Christ entrusted His Church with the authority to forgive repentant sinners and to withhold forgiveness from those who refuse to repent.

Lutherans call this authority the Office of the Keys.

When the pastor absolves a repentant sinner, he is not offering a personal opinion, an encouraging wish, or a prediction that God may forgive. He speaks the Word Christ has commanded His Church to speak.

The pastor says:

“I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

That forgiveness is as valid and certain as if Christ our Lord dealt with us Himself.

A pastor does not forgive sins by his own spiritual power or moral superiority.

He is a called servant of Christ who has been entrusted with the public ministry of the Gospel. The forgiveness belongs to Jesus. The pastor serves as the mouth through which Christ’s promise is spoken.

This is similar to the preaching of the Gospel. A sermon is spoken by a human voice, but its authority and saving power come from God’s Word. In absolution, the voice belongs to the pastor, but the forgiveness belongs to Christ.

The pastor does not say, “I think God probably forgives you.”

He says what Christ has authorized him to say: “I forgive you.”

At the beginning of the Divine Service, the congregation confesses its sins together.

We acknowledge that we are sinful by nature and have sinned in thought, word, and deed. We admit that we deserve God’s judgment and cannot rescue ourselves. We then ask for mercy for the sake of Jesus Christ.

The pastor responds by announcing Christ’s forgiveness.

This places the entire service upon the proper foundation. We do not approach God as people displaying our spiritual accomplishments. We come as sinners who live entirely by His grace.

The general confession is not intended to make worship gloomy or shameful. It prepares us to hear the Gospel with honesty and joy.

We begin by saying who we are apart from Christ.

God answers by declaring who we are in Christ: forgiven.

Private confession is an opportunity to confess particular sins that burden the conscience and to hear Christ’s forgiveness spoken directly and personally.

The Christian meets privately with the pastor. A brief order from the Church’s liturgy may be used. The person confesses the sins that are especially troubling, and the pastor pronounces absolution.

The pastor may offer a short word of Scripture, ask a clarifying question, or provide pastoral guidance. The purpose, however, is not an extended interrogation or counseling session. The purpose is to deliver Christ’s forgiveness to a sinner who needs to hear it.

Private confession is one of the most personal forms of pastoral care available within the Lutheran Church.

Lutherans do not require every Christian to attend private confession at a certain interval or to list every sin before receiving forgiveness.

No one can remember or recognize every sin. Scripture teaches us to pray, “Forgive us our trespasses,” because our need for mercy is greater than our ability to account for every failure.

Private confession is retained because it is a gift, not because it is a spiritual burden.

Some Christians use it regularly. Others request it when a particular sin continues to trouble the conscience. A person may also seek private confession before receiving Communion, during a season of repentance, after a serious failure, or when guilt has become especially heavy.

The Church does not compel private confession. She offers it because there are times when a sinner desperately needs to hear, “This forgiveness is for you.”

No. Private confession belongs to the historic Christian Church and was retained by the Lutheran reformers because they valued the comfort of personal absolution.

The Lutheran Reformation rejected the teaching that forgiveness depends upon remembering and listing every sin, performing works of satisfaction, or earning release from punishment.

Lutherans retained confession while placing the Gospel at its center.

We do not confess to earn forgiveness. We confess so that the forgiveness Christ has already won may be spoken directly into the place where guilt is accusing us.

No.

You should confess the sin honestly enough that you are no longer hiding behind vague language or excuses. You do not need to provide unnecessary, graphic, or identifying details.

The pastor may ask a limited question if clarification is necessary for faithful pastoral care. Private confession should not become an investigation.

The Small Catechism encourages Christians to consider their place in life according to the Ten Commandments. This may include sins committed within marriage, family, work, congregation, friendships, or other responsibilities.

The focus should remain upon the sins that you know and that especially trouble you.

Preparation may begin with prayer and a careful reading of the Ten Commandments.

You may consider questions such as: • Have I placed something above God? • Have I neglected prayer, worship, or God’s Word? • Have I misused God’s name? • Have I dishonored rightful authority? • Have I harmed my neighbor through anger, hatred, or neglect? • Have I sinned sexually in thought, word, or deed? • Have I taken, wasted, or failed to protect what belongs to another? • Have I gossiped, lied, or damaged someone’s reputation? • Have I been consumed by envy or discontent? • Have I failed in my responsibilities as a spouse, parent, child, employer, employee, neighbor, or Christian?

The purpose of this examination is not to produce despair or obsessive self-analysis. It is to help us speak honestly and receive Christ’s forgiveness where we most need it.

The precise setting may vary, but private confession is normally simple and reverent.

The pastor and penitent may begin with the sign of the cross and a brief reading from Scripture. The person then confesses the sins that are burdening the conscience.

You do not need to speak eloquently. You may use the Church’s prepared form or simply describe the sin in your own words.

After the confession, the pastor may ask whether you repent of the sin and desire Christ’s forgiveness. He may offer brief counsel from God’s Word.

The pastor then places Christ’s absolution upon that sin.

The meeting concludes with prayer and peace.

Private confession is not designed to keep you trapped in the moment of failure. It sends you away with Christ’s promise.

The pastor is also a sinner who lives by the forgiveness of Jesus Christ.

He does not hear confession as someone standing above the penitent in moral superiority. He hears as a servant called to bring Christ’s mercy to fellow sinners.

Sin should be taken seriously, but repentant sinners should not be treated with disgust or contempt. Jesus did not come for people who had successfully hidden their failures. He came to seek and save the lost.

The pastor’s responsibility is not to make you feel impressive or worthless. His responsibility is to tell the truth about sin and deliver the greater truth of Christ’s forgiveness.

Individual confession and absolution are received under the seal of confession.

The pastor is not free to repeat, publish, or use sins confessed within that sacred setting. The seal protects the penitent and preserves private confession as a place where the conscience may speak honestly and receive absolution.

Private confession should be distinguished from a general pastoral conversation, counseling meeting, or report involving another person’s immediate safety. If you have questions about the nature or boundaries of a particular conversation, the pastor can explain them before it begins.

The purpose of the seal is not to help someone continue harming others or avoid appropriate responsibility. Its purpose is to protect the personal confession of a repentant sinner and the absolution Christ gives.

Absolution completely forgives sin before God because Christ has paid for it in full.

Earthly consequences may remain.

A person who has stolen may need to return what was taken. Someone who has lied may need to correct the falsehood. Someone who has damaged a relationship may need to ask the injured person for forgiveness. A crime may still carry legal consequences. Broken trust may require time and patient work to restore.

These actions do not purchase God’s forgiveness. They are fruits of repentance and love for the neighbor.

The pastor may help the penitent consider how to make restitution, seek reconciliation, protect those who have been harmed, or accept the consequences of an action.

Grace is not permission to continue harming others.

When you have sinned against another person, you should seek that person’s forgiveness when doing so will not create additional harm.

A simple confession does not make excuses or demand that the other person immediately feel better. It says:

“I sinned against you by what I said or did. I was wrong. Will you forgive me?”

Christian reconciliation may require patience, wisdom, restitution, and changed behavior.

The pastor can help you think through how to approach another person faithfully, especially when the relationship is complicated or the harm is serious.

Private confession before the pastor does not eliminate the responsibility to seek reconciliation with a neighbor. It gives Christ’s forgiveness and strength as you take appropriate next steps.

Many Christians become discouraged because the same temptation or sinful pattern returns.

Repeated struggle does not mean that Christ’s forgiveness has run out. It does mean that the sin should continue to be resisted honestly rather than accepted or renamed as something harmless.

Bring the sin into the light. Receive absolution. Seek practical help. Remove opportunities for temptation when possible. Ask trusted Christians for accountability when appropriate. Continue hearing God’s Word and receiving the Lord’s Supper.

The Christian life is not a steady climb toward self-perfection. It is a daily return to Baptism through repentance and faith.

Christ’s mercy is not exhausted by your weakness.

Repentance does not mean that you can guarantee you will never struggle or fall again. It does mean that you acknowledge the sin as sin and desire God’s help to turn from it.

If a person intends to continue deliberately in sin and demands that the Church approve it, the pastor cannot faithfully treat that as repentance.

In such a case, absolution may be delayed while the pastor continues calling the person to repentance. This is not an act of personal rejection or punishment. It is a serious warning intended to lead the sinner back to Christ.

The Office of the Keys both forgives repentant sinners and withholds forgiveness from the unrepentant for as long as they refuse to repent.

The goal is always restoration.

Forgiveness does not depend upon producing the correct emotional response.

A person may hear absolution and still feel ashamed, anxious, or numb. Emotions often take time to follow what God has declared.

The certainty of forgiveness rests upon Christ’s Word, not upon the strength of our feelings.

When guilt returns, Christians may remember the words spoken in absolution:

“I forgive you all your sins.”

You may answer the accusing conscience by saying, “Christ has spoken. His promise is greater than my feelings.”

Pastoral conversation or professional counseling may also be helpful when persistent shame, trauma, depression, or anxiety continues to burden someone. Receiving appropriate care is not a denial of faith.

Confession and absolution prepare Christians to receive the Lord’s Supper as repentant sinners who trust Christ’s promise.

The general confession at the beginning of the Divine Service places us before God honestly. Private confession may be especially helpful when a particular sin makes someone afraid to approach the altar or unable to believe that forgiveness truly applies.

Absolution does not make us worthy because we have confessed well enough. Christ makes us worthy by giving His promise to those who recognize their sin and desire His mercy.

We come to the altar not because we are sinless, but because Christ gives His body and blood for sinners.

The Christian life is a daily return to Holy Baptism.

Through repentance, the old sinful nature is drowned. Through faith in Christ’s promise, the baptized child of God rises to new life.

Confession does not create a new identity. It returns us to the identity God gave in Baptism.

You are not finally defined by the worst thing you have done, the ugliest thought you have entertained, or the sin that continues to shame you.

The cross tells the truth about the seriousness of your sin. It also tells the greater truth about the depth of Christ’s mercy.

Jesus bore that sin.

Jesus answered that accusation.

Jesus died for you.

Jesus rose for you.

To request private confession and absolution, contact Pastor Johnson directly or through the church office.

You do not need to describe the sin in an email, text message, voicemail, or online form. Simply state that you would like to arrange a time for private confession or a confidential pastoral conversation.

The pastor will arrange an appropriate time and explain what to expect. A printed form may be provided if that would be helpful.

You do not need to wait until you feel prepared enough, sorry enough, or worthy enough.

Come because the burden is real.

Come because Christ’s mercy is greater.

The world offers many ways to manage guilt. We can excuse it, minimize it, blame someone else, distract ourselves, or attempt to compensate for it through self-improvement.

The Gospel gives something better.

Christ does not teach us to rename our sin. He takes it away.

In absolution, the forgiveness won upon the cross is spoken into the ears of a particular sinner:

“I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

That word is for you.

Christ crucified and risen, for you.