The first step in repentance is being contrite. God does not desire sacrifices from us, in order to appease him (Psa 51:16).
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There is nothing confusing about the gospel when it is heard with the ears of faith. We confess that Christ has killed our sinful old nature through his own death on the cross.
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Our anxieties about sin may be managed on the surface with words and semantics, but when the test is applied in the heart, these matters turn out differently.
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Look to the Word. What is written? How far does God say that he hurls our offenses? “As far as the east is from the west,” is how far he removes our sins from us.
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The power of the keys is the clear charge of Christ to preach the gospel, to remit and retain sins, and to administer the sacraments.
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Around the time of the Reformation, there was endless quibbling in the Church about how and when things happened.
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Peace is only found in the grace of God. This is why Peter says, “May grace and peace be multiplied to you.” Who does this math?
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The doctrine of faith is no small matter, for true repentance depends upon faith. Repentance needs faith to believe that God is so merciful toward us that our sins have been forgiven for Christ’s sake.
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What are we to do but to turn again and again to Christ? The heart of this turning, this repentance, is faith. We believe that in turning from our sins to Christ, those sins are blotted out.
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God creates clean hearts within us. This happens when we are first, stricken in our consciences, and then, have faith that God will forgive us and make us righteous for Christ’s sake.
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Confession must lead to Christ—not to more and more confession. Christ is the focus, not ourselves. Therefore forgiveness must be the outcome of confession, not the tyranny of a guilty conscience.
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Only a foolish or crazed person would undertake the task of counting the hairs on his head. There are too many to count.
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The imposition of rules and regulations will change no heart. The Holy Spirit changes hearts. The crucified Christ draws people near.
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Our focus should be Christ, not our sins. One can spend so much time in introspection and the endless recounting of sin that Christ is lost in the shuffle.
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Confession precedes Holy Communion. We are to earnestly confess our sins and hear the words of absolution before receiving Christ.
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As Christ is known to us in the breaking of the bread, the early Church assembled to know Christ in his Supper, the Apostles’ teaching, prayer, and fellowship.
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Confession and absolution provide persons of faith with the regular assurance that their sins are forgiven because of what Christ has accomplished for them.
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People recoil at the idea of fearing God because they believe that God loves them. “Why should I fear someone who loves me?” they might ask.
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Holy Communion is not something that we do; it is something that God does for us. It is not an act or ritual that we perform; it is an activity of God that we receive.
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We have been talking about Holy Communion, Baptism, the Church, justification, and other matters but in all of these topics, we are actually considering faith.
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Jesus called the bread that he broke and gave to his disciples to eat, “my body.” He said of the cup, “This is my blood.” This is what we believe.
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This participation, as the Revised and English Standard versions translate the word, is a fellowship or, as the King James Version phrases it, a communion.
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God gives authority to people to speak and act in his name through Holy Baptism. The pastor seems to be the one using the water, and if that were all the pastor did then that would be all there was to see.
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The universal grace and promise of the gospel is just that: universal. It is not applied to everyone except some persons.
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The divine promises of grace and of the Holy Spirit do not belong to the old alone, as if Jesus, who loved little ones, would have them wait for his promises.
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When a child, or anyone else in a household or family, is baptized, the will of God, the promise of God’s salvation is realized. The work of salvation continues through faith.
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It is important for us to distinguish between the two kingdoms—the kingdom of God and worldly kingdoms. Both Church and State are under God’s authority but they serve different ends.
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Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions urge us to be not only wary of false teachers and ministers, but to have nothing to do with them.
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The words of Christ spoken over the bread and wine insure the promise of grace to those who believe. When we speak his word over the elements, he is truly present in them.
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I like to sing the “Kyrie” in worship. For that matter, I love to sing the entire liturgy, including the intonation of the Psalm. Some of our churches do not sing the liturgy; they speak the words.
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