Comments on: How The Confession Of (My) Sins Kept Me In The Church, Part 1 http://www.newreformationpress.com/blog/2009/03/28/how-the-confession-of-my-sins-kept-me-in-the-church-part-1/ Sat, 11 Feb 2012 18:41:20 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.5 By: John Dostal http://www.newreformationpress.com/blog/2009/03/28/how-the-confession-of-my-sins-kept-me-in-the-church-part-1/#comment-2671 John Dostal Thu, 22 Sep 2011 16:34:59 +0000 http://www.newreformationpress.com/blog/?p=400#comment-2671 It seems that we are members of a unique fellowship where our faith was shipwrecked by modern evangelical theology and practice. If this was the end of the story, I would be bitter and resentful. Instead, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; our Savior Jesus Christ, has had mercy on us and lead us into an exodus into the Gospel as it is rightly proclaimed through Word and Sacrament. Instead of being among church members who have to put up edifices and cover their sin, we can live simul iustus et peccator, knowing Christ alone is our forgiveness and salvation. May God continue the work of rescuing those who are burdened by their sin and their church. It seems that we are members of a unique fellowship where our faith was shipwrecked by modern evangelical theology and practice. If this was the end of the story, I would be bitter and resentful. Instead, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; our Savior Jesus Christ, has had mercy on us and lead us into an exodus into the Gospel as it is rightly proclaimed through Word and Sacrament. Instead of being among church members who have to put up edifices and cover their sin, we can live simul iustus et peccator, knowing Christ alone is our forgiveness and salvation.
May God continue the work of rescuing those who are burdened by their sin and their church.

]]> By: Pat Kyle: A Lutheran Take on Confession « Everyone's Entitled to Joe's Opinion http://www.newreformationpress.com/blog/2009/03/28/how-the-confession-of-my-sins-kept-me-in-the-church-part-1/#comment-976 Pat Kyle: A Lutheran Take on Confession « Everyone's Entitled to Joe's Opinion Thu, 28 Jan 2010 04:06:06 +0000 http://www.newreformationpress.com/blog/?p=400#comment-976 [...] me.  His posts are entitled “How the Confession of My Sins Kept Me in the Church”.  (Part 1) (Part [...] [...] me.  His posts are entitled “How the Confession of My Sins Kept Me in the Church”.  (Part 1) (Part [...]

]]> By: How the Confession of My Sins Kept Me in the Church Part II | internetmonk.com http://www.newreformationpress.com/blog/2009/03/28/how-the-confession-of-my-sins-kept-me-in-the-church-part-1/#comment-973 How the Confession of My Sins Kept Me in the Church Part II | internetmonk.com Fri, 22 Jan 2010 13:49:02 +0000 http://www.newreformationpress.com/blog/?p=400#comment-973 [...] in March of 2009 I put up Part 1 of this post and talked a bit about corporate confession and absolution and how its regular [...] [...] in March of 2009 I put up Part 1 of this post and talked a bit about corporate confession and absolution and how its regular [...]

]]> By: Mary http://www.newreformationpress.com/blog/2009/03/28/how-the-confession-of-my-sins-kept-me-in-the-church-part-1/#comment-720 Mary Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:05:24 +0000 http://www.newreformationpress.com/blog/?p=400#comment-720 I so loved this, your candor and your obvious love and appreciation for Christ. I will read and reread for my own encouragement. I love the crumbs. I so loved this, your candor and your obvious love and appreciation for Christ. I will read and reread for my own encouragement. I love the crumbs.

]]> By: fws http://www.newreformationpress.com/blog/2009/03/28/how-the-confession-of-my-sins-kept-me-in-the-church-part-1/#comment-691 fws Sat, 10 Oct 2009 02:21:18 +0000 http://www.newreformationpress.com/blog/?p=400#comment-691 From around age 8 or so, I knew that I had a terrible secret. A sin that I could not overcome. I was raised Lutheran and thought that my salvation would be to study theology carefully and make sure I got it all right. Literally salvation by systematic theology that only a born Lutheran might understand. I ended up leaving the church for a long time because I feared the rejection that I was certain would follow if other Lutherans knew about me. There were two things that brought me back to the church: I saw that my life was simply not working without Jesus in it. The second thing, that gave me the courage to come back to church even though I had not succeeded in my original plan of cleaning up my life and THEN returning to church was the general confession and absolution. I decided that God had sent his pastors to tell me that I was forgiven over and over again in that general confession and that God did this knowing fully my secret even if those pastors did not. I decided that I would hold God to what he said to me every sunday in the confession and absolution growing up and be sorta stubborn about that point with God. I resolved that I would be completely honest with at least the pastor of the congregation I sought out, and I was quite certain at the time, that the pastor would forbid me to commune and that I would sit in the back pew, and leave quietly and quickly after the service and was desperate enough to be the dog looking for those crumbs from the table... I found over time, that the people confessing their sins at the beginning of the service actually meant what they said and that this had a certain effect upon them or maybe it was that the general confession simply attracted other similar lost and screwed up and untidy riff-raff like me. People, who as a very very last resort, and only after being beaten up pretty badly by "law school", would be willing to be the dogs accepting those crumbs.... I found that as those people came to know me over the 14 years at my little church (you were one of those people), I was accepted as any other member and met with true love and concern and found communion in a way I had not been expecting. my first private confession and receiving of Holy Absolution was very very tearful and very very joyful. I, raised as a Lutheran, had memorized something about private confession as a kid, but was told that that was something only to use when you did some REALLY bad stuff. well.... the shoe fit so.... so for me too, confession saved literally saved my life. From around age 8 or so, I knew that I had a terrible secret. A sin that I could not overcome. I was raised Lutheran and thought that my salvation would be to study theology carefully and make sure I got it all right. Literally salvation by systematic theology that only a born Lutheran might understand.

I ended up leaving the church for a long time because I feared the rejection that I was certain would follow if other Lutherans knew about me.

There were two things that brought me back to the church: I saw that my life was simply not working without Jesus in it. The second thing, that gave me the courage to come back to church even though I had not succeeded in my original plan of cleaning up my life and THEN returning to church was the general confession and absolution.

I decided that God had sent his pastors to tell me that I was forgiven over and over again in that general confession and that God did this knowing fully my secret even if those pastors did not. I decided that I would hold God to what he said to me every sunday in the confession and absolution growing up and be sorta stubborn about that point with God.

I resolved that I would be completely honest with at least the pastor of the congregation I sought out, and I was quite certain at the time, that the pastor would forbid me to commune and that I would sit in the back pew, and leave quietly and quickly after the service and was desperate enough to be the dog looking for those crumbs from the table…

I found over time, that the people confessing their sins at the beginning of the service actually meant what they said and that this had a certain effect upon them or maybe it was that the general confession simply attracted other similar lost and screwed up and untidy riff-raff like me. People, who as a very very last resort, and only after being beaten up pretty badly by “law school”, would be willing to be the dogs accepting those crumbs….

I found that as those people came to know me over the 14 years at my little church (you were one of those people), I was accepted as any other member and met with true love and concern and found communion in a way I had not been expecting.

my first private confession and receiving of Holy Absolution was very very tearful and very very joyful. I, raised as a Lutheran, had memorized something about private confession as a kid, but was told that that was something only to use when you did some REALLY bad stuff. well…. the shoe fit so….

so for me too, confession saved literally saved my life.

]]> By: zoebios121 http://www.newreformationpress.com/blog/2009/03/28/how-the-confession-of-my-sins-kept-me-in-the-church-part-1/#comment-678 zoebios121 Mon, 28 Sep 2009 11:04:12 +0000 http://www.newreformationpress.com/blog/?p=400#comment-678 Wow. I really admire the gospel first as the solution to our problems. Almost makes me want to be Lutheran. At least, take a page out of their book regarding this. Yes, I'm quite sick of the Christianiese way of forcing a Bible passage to fit in a sort "self-help" kind of way for our own purposes. "Biblical" my foot. Wow. I really admire the gospel first as the solution to our problems. Almost makes me want to be Lutheran. At least, take a page out of their book regarding this.

Yes, I’m quite sick of the Christianiese way of forcing a Bible passage to fit in a sort “self-help” kind of way for our own purposes. “Biblical” my foot.

]]> By: The Evangelical Liturgy 11: The Corporate Confession | internetmonk.com http://www.newreformationpress.com/blog/2009/03/28/how-the-confession-of-my-sins-kept-me-in-the-church-part-1/#comment-654 The Evangelical Liturgy 11: The Corporate Confession | internetmonk.com Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:32:07 +0000 http://www.newreformationpress.com/blog/?p=400#comment-654 [...] How The Corporate Confession Saved My Faith. And Part 2. From our friend Patrick [...] [...] How The Corporate Confession Saved My Faith. And Part 2. From our friend Patrick [...]

]]> By: Pat K http://www.newreformationpress.com/blog/2009/03/28/how-the-confession-of-my-sins-kept-me-in-the-church-part-1/#comment-415 Pat K Fri, 24 Jul 2009 17:28:50 +0000 http://www.newreformationpress.com/blog/?p=400#comment-415 Dave, I Cor 5:4and 2nd Cor 2:10 allude to it. In Lutheran and Reformed circles, the verses dictate the theology and the practice. The book of Acts is descriptive of the early church, not necessarily a prescriptive, exhaustive manual for how we do church. The pastoral epistles are prescriptive but not exhaustively so. The scriptures give rise to the theology which in turn dictates our practice Confession and absolution in the understanding of the Lutheran Reformation is a personal application of the Gospel to your particular situation by your Pastor. Dave,

I Cor 5:4and 2nd Cor 2:10 allude to it.

In Lutheran and Reformed circles, the verses dictate the theology and the practice. The book of Acts is descriptive of the early church, not necessarily a prescriptive, exhaustive manual for how we do church. The pastoral epistles are prescriptive but not exhaustively so. The scriptures give rise to the theology which in turn dictates our practice

Confession and absolution in the understanding of the Lutheran Reformation is a personal application of the Gospel to your particular situation by your Pastor.

]]> By: Dave Begley http://www.newreformationpress.com/blog/2009/03/28/how-the-confession-of-my-sins-kept-me-in-the-church-part-1/#comment-411 Dave Begley Thu, 23 Jul 2009 20:10:05 +0000 http://www.newreformationpress.com/blog/?p=400#comment-411 I was brought up in a fundamental Baptist church and have been discovering a lot of good things in the Reformed and Lutheran teachings (for the past 5-6 years.) Dr. Rosenbladt's teachings on this website have been great. What makes me wonder if your interpretation of John 20:21-23 is correct is the absence of this practice in Acts, and no mention of it by Paul when he gives instructions to Timothy and Titus. Am I missing something? I was brought up in a fundamental Baptist church and have been discovering a lot of good things in the Reformed and Lutheran teachings (for the past 5-6 years.) Dr. Rosenbladt’s teachings on this website have been great.

What makes me wonder if your interpretation of John 20:21-23 is correct is the absence of this practice in Acts, and no mention of it by Paul when he gives instructions to Timothy and Titus.

Am I missing something?

]]> By: George King http://www.newreformationpress.com/blog/2009/03/28/how-the-confession-of-my-sins-kept-me-in-the-church-part-1/#comment-263 George King Fri, 03 Apr 2009 18:04:06 +0000 http://www.newreformationpress.com/blog/?p=400#comment-263 I have to agree with you thank you for sharing this. I have to agree with you thank you for sharing this.

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