Washed and Fed · Stop 3
Why do we confess our sins, and what happens when we do?
Everyone carries things they wish they hadn't done. Keeping them inside can feel heavy. Today you'll find out why Lutherans say them out loud, and what it's like to hear someone tell you, in God's name, “You are forgiven.”
Start this stopForgiven
Luther said confession has two parts. First, we tell the truth about our sins. Second, we hear forgiveness, and the second part matters most. The word for that forgiveness is absolution.
Many ELCA services start this way. Everyone confesses together, often out loud, and then the one leading worship announces God's forgiveness to the whole room. Luther also valued private confession, and some congregations offer it. Ask a leader at your church what yours does.
After Easter, Jesus breathed on his friends and gave them the Holy Spirit. He told them to forgive sins in his name. Luther called this the Office of the Keys: the church holds the keys that open the door to forgiveness.
Confession is for your own sins. If someone is hurting you, that is not your sin to confess, and it isn't a secret to keep. Tell a trusted adult.
Read it in your Bible
- 1 John 1:8–9. John writes that if we say we have no sin, we're fooling ourselves. But if we admit our sins, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive us and wash us clean.
- John 20:21–23. The risen Jesus stands among his frightened friends and says, “Peace be with you.” He sends them out, breathes on them, and gives them the Holy Spirit and the work of forgiving sins.
Confession, from Luther's Small Catechism
What is Confession? Confession embraces two parts: One is that we confess our sins; the other, that we receive absolution, that is, forgiveness, from the confessor as from God Himself, and in no wise doubt, but firmly believe, that by it our sins are forgiven before God in heaven.
Which sins should we confess? Before God we should plead guilty of all sins, even of those which we do not know, as we do in the Lord's Prayer. But before the confessor we should confess those sins only which we know and feel in our hearts, and which trouble us.
Words to know
- Confess. To tell the truth about what you've done wrong. Telling the truth is the first part. It's never the last part.
- Sin. Anything that turns us away from God and our neighbor, in what we do or fail to do. Everyone sins. That's why everyone gets to hear forgiveness.
- Keys. Luther's word for the power Jesus gave the church to forgive sins in his name. A key opens a locked door. Forgiveness opens the way back.
- Peace. The first word the risen Jesus spoke to his friends in John 20. They had run away. He came back with peace, not blame.
- Absolution. The forgiveness spoken to you in God's name after you confess. It means set free. You're allowed to believe it.