LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2019, Page 220

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220

II. THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS­­—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS

Abbreviations used:
AC
Ap
LC
SC
SA
Tr
LSB
KW
AE

Confession and Absolution
A REPORT OF THE COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS
THE LUTHERAN CHURCH—MISSOURI SYNOD APRIL 2018

Augsburg Confession
Apology of the Augsburg Confession
Large Catechism
Small Catechism
Smalcald Articles
Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope
Lutheran Service Book
Robert Kolb and Timothy J. Wengert, ed., The Book of Concord
(Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2000)
Luther’s Works, American Edition

© 2018 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
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Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The
Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing
ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Cover Photo:

Confession and Absolution
Introduction ............................................................................................................... 2

Part One: Foundations ................................................................................... 4
Scriptural Witness................................................................................................. 4
Biblical confession....................................................................................... 4
Repentance................................................................................................... 5
‘I will draw all people to myself ’................................................................ 6
Not heroes but believers ............................................................................. 6
‘I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven’ ................................ 7
‘That you may be healed’ ............................................................................ 7
Confessional Witness ........................................................................................... 7
History ................................................................................................................... 9
Challenges............................................................................................................ 11

Part Two: Helping the Pastor .................................................................... 16

Introduction ....................................................................................................... 16
Help for the Pastor as a Child of God ............................................................... 16
‘We poor sinners’ ....................................................................................... 16
‘We flee for refuge’ ..................................................................................... 18
‘Seeking and imploring Your grace’......................................................... 19
Help for the Pastor in His Unique Calling ....................................................... 19
‘Measuring up’ ........................................................................................... 20
‘Bearing up’ ................................................................................................ 20
‘Conversation and consolation’................................................................ 21
Guidance for the Pastor ..................................................................................... 22
Luther’s example ........................................................................................ 22
Qualities of a confessor............................................................................. 22

Part Three: Extending the Gift to the Congregation................... 24
The General Need ............................................................................................... 24
The Great Benefit for Pastor and People........................................................... 25
Facing sin directly ..................................................................................... 25
Personal reception of the Gospel ............................................................. 26
Increasing the bond between pastor and people ................................... 26
Restoration and Practice .................................................................................... 27

Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 29
Appendix: 2013 Resolution 4-13............................................................................. 30

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
Introduction

T

he 2013 convention of The Lutheran
Church—Missouri Synod adopted Resolution
4-13, “To Encourage Confession and Absolution
for Pastors” (see Appendix). Re-affirming the LCMS
scriptural and confessional position on confession and
absolution, the resolution seeks to take “seriously the
spiritual welfare of her pastors” (second resolve) and
encourages them “to seek a father confessor” (third
resolve). The fourth resolve maintains Christian liberty,
stating “that this resolution makes provision only for
those pastors who have a desire to make use of private
confession but who are unsure where they may go … .”
The resolution then mandates “that the Commission on
Theology and Church Relations provide a document
that sets forth our church’s teaching on confession and
absolution and offers positive guidance to pastors and
congregations in their exercise of the Office of the Keys.”1

that the Lord’s judgment upon our sin is right and true.2
The second word, “absolution,” is a synonym for forgiveness. Lutheran theology dictates that in any discussion
of “confession and absolution,” it is this second word that
requires emphasis. In Luther’s Brief Exhortation to Confession, he says: “We should therefore take care to keep
the two parts clearly separate. We should set little value
on our work but exalt and magnify God’s Word.”3

The two words “confession and absolution” are
worthy of some clarification. “Confession” occurs in
more than one setting or context. The root word from
the New Testament is ὁμoς, [homos] “one and the same.”
The basic meaning of the related Greek compound noun
ὁμoλoγἰα is “an agreement” by which two parties say
the same thing, and the compound verb ὁμoλoγέω is
similarly used as “to agree.” Thus, “if we confess our sins”
(1 John 1:9), we are saying the same thing that God is saying about our sin. We are agreeing with what God reveals
about us and our sin. We are admitting (acknowledging)

Luther speaks of confession of sins in three settings:
1) private confession to a pastor; 2) confession to God
alone (as we find it in the Lord’s Prayer, Matt. 6:12); and
3) confession made to a fellow Christian (James 5:16).5 We
continually admit and confess our sin before God when
we pray, “Forgive us our trespasses.” And since the keys

1
Past CTCR documents have also touched on private confession and
absolution. These include the following: The Ministry: Offices, Procedures, and Nomenclature (1981), Theology and Practice of The Lord’s
Supper (1983), Church Discipline in the Christian Congregation (1985),
and The Pastor-Penitent Relationship: Privileged Communications
(1999). All are available online at lcms.org/ctcr.

CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION

2019 Convention Workbook

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INTRODUCTION

The Small Catechism uses the first word in its
question, but emphasizes the second:
What is Confession? Answer: Confession has two
parts: First, that we confess our sins, and second,
that we receive absolution, that is, forgiveness,
from the pastor as from God Himself, not doubting, but firmly believing that by it our sins are
forgiven before God in heaven.4

2
Both the Hebrew and Greek words for “confess” and its cognates
occur in three contexts biblically: as a confession of sin (e.g., Lev. 5:5; Ps.
32:5; 38:18; Matt. 3:6), a confession of praise (e.g., Dan. 9:4; 1 Tim. 3:16),
and a confession of faith (e.g., Is. 48:1; Rom. 10:9). Common to all is an
admission or acknowledgement of truth and a sense of agreement.
Thus, one acknowledges one’s sin; one acknowledges one’s faith; one
acknowledges God’s greatness. See the “Scriptural Witness” section
below.
3

LC, “Exhortation to Confession,” KW 478.18.

4
Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation (St. Louis: Concordia
Publishing House, 2017), 25.

5 LC, “A Brief Exhortation to Confession,” KW 476–477.8–12.

2