# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1846 12 08_S43 # AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) Der Lutheraner. "God's Word and Luther's teaching shall pass away, now and nevermore." Edited by C. F. W. Walther. Volume 3. St. Louis, Mo., December 15, 1846. No. 8. Terms: Der Lutheraner appears once every two weeks, at a subscription price of one dollar for out-of-town subscribers, of which they must pay half in advance and also bear the postage. — In St. Louis, each single issue is sold for 5 cents. Registering for Confession. A Sketch from Life.* *) Note: when I call this a sketch or drawing from life, this does not mean that particular, specific persons are thereby portrayed; rather, in one figure many and various cases at once are portrayed — it is the disposition that is portrayed, the disposition found in many. I share it, however, as proof to pastors that there is something to registering for confession, and that a blessing lies in it which they should not let slip from their hands; and as a mirror for those whom it concerns, that they may recognize how well or how poorly they show themselves, or what sort of people show themselves better before God and men than they do. By W. Löhe. First Dialogue. Balthasar: Good day, Pastor. Pastor: Good day, Balthasar; what do you want? B: I want to register for confession by Saturday, and for the Lord's Supper by Sunday. Pastor: Why do you want to come to the Lord's Supper just now? B: Why? Well, I think it's simply about that time again. Pastor: How so? Is it always Advent with you, then? B: Yes, among my people it was never known otherwise than that one went to the Lord's Supper at Pentecost and at Christmas or in Advent. And that is how I keep it too. Pastor: So you go, then, for the sake of custom? B: Well, what else? I don't follow the fashion, as many do nowadays, of going only once a year. Pastor: In that you do right, B.; but in going only for the sake of custom, you do wrong. Tell me, what does one do in confession? B: Well, I think one recognizes and confesses one's sins there. Pastor: Now, you must actually already recognize your sins beforehand, so that you can then confess them in confession; that is, you must already know beforehand where the shoe pinches, so that you can tell God your trouble and your hurt, lament it, and seek help for it; for to confess one's sin means nothing other than to tell and admit one's sin to God. But why must one confess one's sins in confession? B: So that they may be forgiven. Pastor: Right; as David says in Psalm 32: "When I kept silent, my bones wasted away—" B: "—through my groaning all day long; for your hand was heavy upon me day and night; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah." Pastor: Do you see? There he testifies that he found no peace and no rest so long as he kept silent about his sin, so long as he did not confess it to God. But now he continues: "Therefore I confess my sin to you, and—" B: "—I do not hide my iniquity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the LORD—" Pastor and B (together): "—and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah." Pastor: Whoever, then, does not confess his sin will not be forgiven it. But are all forgiven their sins who confess them in confession? B: One must be truly in earnest about it. Pastor: But when is one in earnest? B: I think, when his sins grieve him, when he repents of them. Pastor: Quite right. But now tell me, B., do your sins grieve you precisely and only at Pentecost and around Christmas, and never otherwise? Or when you have gone to the Lord's Supper at Pentecost and around Christmas, have your sins actually weighed on you at just those times? B: Pastor — that I would not venture to claim. Pastor: And if you did claim it, I would tell you flatly: it is not true; you are lying to yourself and to me. It is not possible for one who goes to the Lord's Supper merely for the sake of custom to go with a penitent and contrite heart. But whoever confesses his sins without heartfelt repentance — has he confessed them in truth, and will he receive forgiveness? B: Probably not, if Psalm 32 is anything to go by. Pastor: And it surely will hold true; but can one who does not receive forgiveness of sins partake of the Holy Supper worthily and to his blessing? B: Then surely nothing will come of it. Pastor: Now think, B., how often you have already partaken of it unworthily! Do you want to go in that same way again now? B: No, Pastor, I want to repent of my sins. I simply had not thought of it that way before. Pastor: Consider it rightly now. But if you now repent of your sins, will you then certainly receive forgiveness? B: I hope so. Pastor: On what does your hope rest? B: On God. Pastor: But do you not know that God is righteous, and repays each one according to his works and according to the fruit of his nature? Are your sins good works? Good fruits? And if God repays you accordingly, how will it stand with forgiveness? B: But God is also merciful. Pastor: But not at the cost of his righteousness. Are you, then, worthy that he should forgive you your sins? B: No one could say that! Pastor: Well then, how can you hope that God will forgive you your sin? B: I do not know, Pastor. Pastor: Does no one occur to you, through whom you might obtain it? B (stares at him): No, Pastor. Tell me. Pastor: Do you then know the explanation of the Second Article? "I believe that Jesus Christ—" B: "—true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord—" Pastor: Pay attention, now it comes— B: "—who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person—" Pastor: "—has redeemed, purchased, and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil." Who, then, has redeemed you from all sins? B: Jesus Christ. Pastor: Through whom, then, can you obtain forgiveness of sins? B: Through Jesus Christ. Pastor: Why through him? B: Because he has redeemed me. Pastor: With what did he redeem you? B: "Not with gold or silver, but with his holy, precious blood and with his innocent suffering and death." — Pastor: See, that is what it cost him, to 43