Confession in the Lutheran Church (also called Holy Absolution) is the method given by Christ to the Church by which individual men and women may be freed from sins committed after receiving Holy Baptism and taking a two or three-year Confirmation class.
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Beliefs
The Lutheran Church practices "Confession and Absolution" [referred to as the Office of the Keys] with the emphasis on the absolution, which is God's word of forgiveness. Indeed, Lutherans highly regard Holy Absolution and consider it the "third" sacrament. Confession may be done silent with a whole congregation, or private to the pastor. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, private confession and absolution fell into disuse; at the present time, it is encouraged particularly before Easter and for those about to receive First Communion or Confirmation.
Martin Luther on Confession
In his 1529 catechisms, Martin Luther praised private confession (before a pastor or a fellow Christian) "for the sake of absolution," the forgiveness of sins bestowed in an audible, concrete way (see John 20:23; Matthew 16:19; 18:18). The Lutheran reformers held that a complete enumeration of sins is impossible (Augsburg Confession XI with reference to Psalm 19:12) and that one's confidence of forgiveness is not to be based on the sincerity of one's contrition nor on one's doing works of satisfaction imposed by the confessor. The medieval church held confession to be composed of three parts: contritio cordis ("contrition of the heart"), confessio oris ("confession of the mouth"), and satisfactio operis ("satisfaction of deeds"). The Lutheran reformers abolished the "satisfaction of deeds," holding that confession and absolution consist of only two parts (Large Catechism VI, 15): the confession of the penitent and the absolution spoken by the confessor. Faith or trust in Jesus' complete active and passive satisfaction is what receives the forgiveness and salvation won by him and imparted to the penitent by the word of absolution. Luther also states that a person should use Absolution and the Lord's Supper frequently in a year.[1]
Form of Confession
Private Confession
Holy Absolution (in the same manner as confession in the Catholic Church), which is done in the church chancel with the pastor sitting near the communion rail far enough away from being overheard or in the privacy of the pastor's office (though some churches use a confessional). Private confessions can be heard almost anywhere [hospital room, outside, etc]. The words, taken from the Lutheran Service Book and used in most private confessions, say:
The penitent begins by saying:
Please hear my confession and pronounce forgiveness in order to fulfill God's will. I, a poor sinner, plead guilty before God of all sins. I have lived as if God did not matter and as if I mattered most. My Lord's name I have not honored as I should; my worship and prayers have faltered. I have not let His love have its way with me, and so my love for others has failed. There are those whom I have hurt, and those whom I have failed to help. My thoughts and desires have been spoiled with sin. What troubles me particularly is that...Here, the penitent is to confess whatever they have done against the commandments of God, according to their own place in life. The penitent continues.
I am sorry for all of this and ask for grace. I want to do better.The pastor continues:
God be merciful to you and strengthen you faith. Do you believe that my forgiveness is God's forgiveness?The penitent will say:
Yes.The pastor places his hand on the head of the penitent and says the following:
In the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.The pastor may assign the penitent an additional penance, such as Scripture passages to read to strengthen their faith. Then the pastor dismesses the penitent.
Go in peace.The penitent responds:
Amen.
Assembled Confession
This form of confession takes place as part of the settings for the Eucharist in some modern Lutheran liturgical forms.
The assembly stands. All may make the sign of the cross, the sign that is marked at baptism, as the pastor begins:
"In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit."The assembly responds:
"Amen"The pastor may lead one of the following or another prayer of preparation
"God of all mercy and consolation, come to the help of your people, turning us from our sin to live for you alone. give us the power of your Holy Spirit that we may confess our sin, receive your forgiveness, and grow into the fullness of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord."The assembly responds:
"Amen"The pastor continues:
"Let us confess our sin in the presence of God and of one another. Most merciful God,"The assembly joins in saying:
"we confess that we are captive to sin and cannot free ourselves. We have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. For the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us. Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name. Amen."The pastor announces God's forgiveness with these or similar words:
"In the mercy of almighty God, Jesus Christ was given to die for us, and for his sake God forgives us all our sins. As a called and ordained minister of the church of Christ, and by his authority, I therefore declare to you the entire forgiveness of all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit."The assembly responds:
This included with a gathering song.[2]"Amen"
General Confession
The pastor recites the Exhortation as follows:
"Beloved in the Lord! Let us draw near with a true heart, and confess our sins unto God our Father, beseeching Him, in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to grant us forgiveness."The Versicle begins with the pastor saying:
Our help is in the Name of the Lord.The congregation responds,
Who made heaven and earth.The pastor continues,
I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord.The congregation responds,
And You forgave the iniquity of my sin.(Moment of silence for personal confession) The pastor begins.
O almighty God, merciful Father,The congregation then says an Act of Contrition with the pastor:
I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserve You temporal and eternal punishment. But I pray You of Your boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being.Then the pastor pronounces the Declaration of Grace:
Upon this your confession, I, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God to all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.The congregation responds,
Amen.[3]
References
- ^ (The Defense of the Augsburg Confession; Article XI: Of Confession)
- ^ Evangelical Lutheran Worship, Augsburg Fortress Publishers, Minneapolis, MN 2006.
- ^ (Lutheran Worship, Divine Service I)
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