ConfessionOffice of the Keys

The Giving and Receiving of Forgiveness…

Chain the Catechism: A topical study through the Lutheran confessions

Memorization Verses: The Office of the Keys is that special authority which Christ has given to His church on earth to forgive the sins of repentant sinners, but to withhold forgiveness from the unrepentant as long as they do not repent.The Lord Jesus breathed on His disciples

and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." [John 20:22-231

TLH 65 lutheran-hymnal.com/online/tlh-065.mid

1. When sinners see their lost conditionAnd feel the pressing load of sinAnd Jesus cometh on His missionTo heal the sin-sick heart within,All grief must flee before His grace,And joy divine will take its place.2. When Jesus enters meek and lowlyTo fill the home with sweetest peace;When hearts have felt His blessing holyAnd found from sin complete release,Then light and calm within shall reignAnd hearts divided love again.3. When Jesus enters land and nationAnd moves the people with His love;When, yielding to His kind persuasion,Our hearts His truth and blessing prove,Then shall our life on earth be blest,The peace of God on us shall rest.4. When Jesus comes, --O blessed

story!--He works a change in heart and life;God's kingdom comes with power and

gloryTo young and old, to man and wife;Through Sacrament and living WordFaith, love, and hope are now conferred.5. Then stilled are cries and lamentation,Then loosed is Satan's every band,In death is hope and consolation,The soul is safe in Jesus' hand.When we shall walk through death's dark

vale,His rod and staff shall never fail.6. Oh, may He soon to every nationFind entrance where He is unknown,With life and light and full salvation,That heathendom may be o'erthrownAnd healing to the hearts may comeIn heathen land and Christian home!

Sing it!

Prayers for Pastor

How To Pray for Your Pastor•Insight into scripture and an understanding of how it applies to people today.•Protection from the work of Satan.•Help him keep a soft heart in the face of abrasive and abusive people.•His personal spiritual growth.•A successful ministry – however God defines success in his life.•Boldness to speak the truth, and grace to speak it with humility.•That he would persevere through whatever trial he is facing.•His children – that they will grow up with a positive impression of church ministry.•That he would remain pure, and that his love for his wife would increase daily.•That you would know how to encourage him today.

Pray for Your P-A-S-T-O-R

P - Purity. Pray that your pastor will remain pure in the face of constant pressure in an immoral culture.A - Adversity. Pray for your pastor that he will be able to confront adversity with faith and endurance.S - Strength. Most pastors work long hours and at least six days a week. Pray that he will have the strength to continue his ministry.T - Teaching. Pray for your pastor that his teaching and preaching will be effective, powerful, and clear.O - Organization. Your pastor has more to do than any one person can handle. Pray for your pastor that he will be able to prioritize correctly.R - Rest. Your pastor needs rest. Pray that your pastor will sleep well each night and that he will take enough time away from ministry so that he does not get worn out.

PRAYER

• Office of Keys• Church authority• Absolution•Repentance• Pastors called P raiseR epentanceA ppreciationY ouE veryoneR esolve

Pray: Lord Jesus Christ, my Redeemer, You have given to Your dear church on earth and its faithful servants the sacred office of the keys. You invested this office with the promise that whatsoever they shall loose or bind on earth by these keys shall also be loosed or bound in heaven. I thank You, and eternally praise and glorify You, for Your gracious gift. I a poor and bound sinner need this blessed key which looses, so that I may not be kept under the bonds of the infernal jailer. I beg Your infinite mercy. May I receive its comfort through my spiritual father, my pastor, and for the sake of Your holy, precious blood and Your innocent offering and death may I be loosed from all my sins. Grant me Your Holy Spirit, so that I may grasp this holy absolution in heartfelt contrition and undoubting trust. Amen. (Johann Habermann, 1516-90)

LSB 608 1 Jesus sinners doth receive;

Oh, may all this saying ponderWho in sin's delusions liveAnd from God and heaven wander!Here is hope for all who grieve:Jesus sinners doth receive.2 We deserve but grief and shame,Yet His words, rich grace revealing,Pardon, peace, and life proclaim;Here their ills have perfect healingFirmly in these words believe:Jesus sinners doth receive.3 Sheep that from the fold did strayNo true shepherd e'er forsaketh;Weary souls that lost their wayChrist, the Shepherd, gently takethIn His arms that they may live:Jesus sinners doth receive.4 I, a sinner, come to TheeWith a penitent confession.

Savior, mercy show to me;Grant for all my sins remission.Let these words my soul relieve:Jesus sinners doth receive.5 Oh, how blest it is to know:Were as scarlet my transgression,It shall be as white as snowBy Thy blood and bitter passion,For these words I now believe:Jesus sinners doth receive.6 Now my conscience is at peace;From the Law I stand acquitted.Christ hath purchased my releaseAnd my ev'ry sin remitted.Naught remains my soul to grieve:Jesus sinners doth receive.7 Jesus sinners doth receive;Also I have been forgiven;And when I this earth must leave,I shall find an open heaven.Dying, still to Him I cleave:Jesus sinners doth receive.

Sing it!

Discussion

“It is the confession, not the priest, that gives us absolution.” ~Oscar Wilde

Confession

Say Mean Matter

Key phrases Own words Answer the questions/Personal application

•What is the office of the keys? •Where is this written? •What do you believe according to these words? •What special authority has Christ given to His church on earth? •Why is this authority called the OOTK? •How is the OOTK related to the proclamation of the Gospel? •Who are to be forgiven (absolved)? Who receives the forgiveness given in absolution? •Who are repentant believers? •Who are not to be forgiven? •What is the necessary result of repentance? •How does the church publicly exercise the OOTK ? •Who should be considered for the office of pastor?

•______________________________

SS Confession M Pleading Guilt T Confess to others W Absolution Th Sins Removed

 You say, "Brother Branham, am I in?" I don't know. I'm hoping I am. We work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. Now, the Church is predestinated to meet God without spot or wrinkle. Now, if we are in that Church, we are predestinated with that Church. Now, examine yourself by the Word, then you can check up how far along we are.Now, now, organizational Christianity can never give that assurance. No. Some of them said, "You come up and confess that Jesus is the Christ, be baptized in the church." The Devil does the same thing. He believes himself, that Jesus is the Christ and trembles. See, that's right.

No Church?

I’m going to tell you something folks, I didn’t stop sinning until I finally got it through my thick head I wasn’t a sinner anymore. And the religious world thinks that’s heresy and they want to hang you for it. But the Bible says that I’m righteous and I can’t be righteous and be a sinner at the same time.”

  Most people who go to denominational churches never ever hear that! They never hear it!  Never!  All I was ever taught to say was, ‘I’m a poor, miserable sinner.’ I am not poor, I am not miserable and I am not a sinner. That is a lie from the pit of hell. That is what I was and if I still am then Jesus died in vain. Amen?

No Sin?

The Roman Pontiff, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ and as pastor of the entire church, has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered

~Vatican II (Par. 882)

Only the Pope?

See a short form of confession in Cat. The Office of the Keys is that special

authority which Christ has given to His church on earth to forgive the sins of repentant sinners, but to withhold forgiveness from the unrepentant as long as they do not repent.

This is what St. John the Evangelist writes in chapter twenty: The Lord Jesus breathed on His disciples and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." [John 20:22-231

I believe that when the called ministers of Christ deal with us by His divine command, in particular when they exclude openly unrepentant sinners from the Christian congregation and absolve those who repent of their sins

and want to do better, this is just as valid and certain, even in heaven, as if Christ our dear Lord dealt with us Himself.

• Pray: Let us never be robbed of our

faithful preachers because of our ingratitude. But look upon the glory of Your holy name. Behold the kingdom of Your Anointed, that it may prevail among us to the end of the world. Amen. (Johann Habermann, 1516-90)

SS: Office of Keys

Office of the KeysChrist gives the auspices of

the church to the apostles (Mt. 16:19) The Apostles begin to appoint

deacons and a system of basic governance for orderly worship

One of the marks of the Church given to men is the declarative word of God, both for judgement and forgiveness Law/Gospel preaching Binding/loosing sins for the sake

of discipline and comfort Declaration of the Gospel within

the liturgy

Christ has given to His church the authority to forgive sins or to withhold forgiveness.

Matt. 18:18 1 tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

John 20:22-23 [Jesus] breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."

This authority works like a key to open heaven by forgiving sins, or to close heaven by not forgiving them.

Matt. 16:19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

The Office of the Keys is a special God-given way of applying the Gospel to the individual.

"God is surpassingly rich in His grace: First, through the spoken word, by which the forgiveness of sin (the peculiar function of the Gospel) is preached to the whole world; second, through Baptism; third, through the holy Sacrament of the Altar; fourth, through

the power of keys; and finally, through the mutual conversation and consolation of brethren" (Smalcald Articles III.IV).

Matt. 18:20 Where two or three come together in My name, there am I with them.

Matt. 28:18-20 Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

1 Peter 2:9 You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.

• Pray: I do not worship my pastor, but he tells

me of a Lord whose name is Christ, and makes Him known to me. I will be attentive to listen to his words as long as he leads me to this Master and Teacher who is the Son of God. Amen. (Luther).

M: Church authority

1. Didache “You must not let anyone eat or drink of your Eucharist

except those baptized in the Lord’s name. For in reference to this, the Lord said, “‘Do not give what is sacred to dogs’ [Mt. 7.6] … If anyone is holy, let him come. If not, let him repent. Our Lord come. Amen” (9,5; 10,6)

2. Augustine The Church's love, which is shed abroad in our

hearts by the Holy Spirit, discharges the sins of all who are partakers with itself, but retains the sins of those who have no participation therein. Therefore it is, that after saying "Receive ye the Holy Ghost," He straightway added this regarding the remission and retention of sins. (NPNF1, vol. 7, p. 438.)

Keys: A History

3. Luther He binds and joins himself to our work. Indeed, he

himself commands us to do his own work. Why then, should we make it uncertain or reverse it, pretending he must first bind and loose in heaven? Just as if his binding and loosing in heaven were different from our binding and loosing on earth. … It shall be one single action, mine and yours, not a twofold one. It shall be one and the same key. While you do your work, mine is already done. When you bind and loose, I have already bound and loosed.

4. Augsburg Confession, Article XII If we define the sacraments as rites, which have the

command of God and to which the promise of grace has been added, it is easy to determine what the sacraments are, properly speaking. ... Therefore, the sacraments are actually baptism, the Lord's Supper, and absolution (the sacrament of penance).

Keys: A History

Those who repent and ask for forgiveness are to be forgiven.Acts 3:19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.Only repentant believers receive the forgiveness.Ps. 32:5 1 acknowledged my sin to You and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord"-and You forgave the guilt of my sin.

Repentant believers are those who are sorry for their sins (contrition) and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior (faith).Ps. 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, 0 God, You will not despise.Acts 16:31 Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.Note: Secretly unrepentant sinners (hypocrites) reject the forgiveness which the absolution truly offers them.

•Pray: Behold, lord, here is an empty cask that needs to be filled. My Lord, fill it. I am weak in faith; strengthen me. I am cold in love; warm me and fill me with fire that my love may flow out

over my neighbor. I do not have a firm, strong faith; I doubt at times and cannot fully trust in God. O Lord, help me; increase my faith and trust for me. In You is locked the treasure of all my possessions. I am poor; You are rich and are come to have mercy upon the poor. I am a sinner; You are righteous. I pour forth a stream of sin; but in You are all fullness and righteousness. Amen. (Luther). O Father it is indeed true that no one can be strong by his own power (1 Sam 2:4). Who can stand before Your might if You do not strengthen and comfort us Yourself? Therefore, dear Father, embrace us, accomplish Your will in us, that we may be Your kingdom to Your praise and glory. But, dear Father, strengthen us in this life with Your holy Word. Give us our daily bread. Establish in our hearts Your dear Son Jesus Christ who is the true bread of heaven. Sustained by Him, may we gladly bear and suffer the breaking of the dying of our own will and the fulfillment of Your will. Give grace to all Christendom. Send us educated pastors and preachers who will not give us the dregs and chaff of foolish fables, but who will teach us Your holy Gospel and lead us to Jesus Christ. Amen. (Luther).

T: Absolution

Exegesis: Mt. 16:19 I will give you the

keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”

KleiðvdeÑw: To bind or put under

the authority of; requirementlu/w: to set free from a decree

or requirementMajority of scholars apply

“binding” and “loosing” to the application of the law to specific circumstances Rabbi’s chief role (one of Jesus’

roles as well) A form of Law/Gospel applied

to different people.

Exegesis: John 20:21Peace be with you! As the

Father has sent me, I am sending you. And with that he breathed on them and said, “receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

enefushsen (5656) kai legei , Labete  pneuma agion;“breathed” is only used once

before by the LXX, when God breathed on Adam

“Receiving the Spirit” is declaring the truth of the Spirit (“to lay hold of”)

afhte  tav amartiav afewntai  autoiv,an tinwn krathte kekrathntai.Aphete means to send awayKratete means to have power

Unrepentant sinners, that is, those who are not sorry for their sins and do not believe in Jesus Christ, are not to be forgiven as long as they do not repent.

Matt. 18:17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

"Then good works, which are the fruits of repentance, are bound to follow" (Augsburg Confession XII 6).

Matt. 3:8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 905 John 8:11 Go now and leave your life of sin.

Bible narrative: Zacchaeus the tax collector (Luke 19:1-10).

The Christian congregation by the command of Christ calls pastors to carry out the Office of the Keys publicly in His name and on behalf of the congregation. The pastoral office is a divine institution.

Eph. 4:11 It was He [Christ] who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers.

Acts 20:28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the

flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.

1 Cor. 4:1 Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God (NKJV).

2 Cor. 2:10 What I have forgiven ... I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake.

• Pray: Dear God and Father, we thank You for

Your infinite goodness and love for us. You continually keep us in Your Word, in faith, and in prayer. By this we know how to walk before You in humility and in fear. By this we are not proud of our own wisdom, righteousness, skill, and strength, but glory alone in Your power. For You are strong when we are weak, and through us weaklings you daily win and gain the victory. We pray that You would so nurture us that we may please You like beautiful gardens so that many people may enjoy our fruits and be attracted through us to all godliness. Write into our hearts, by Your Holy Spirit, what is abundantly found in Scripture. Let us constantly keep it in mind, and permit it to become far more precious to us than our own life and whatever we cherish on earth. Help us to live and act accordingly. To You be praise and thanks in eternity. Amen. (Luther).

W: Repentance

Exegesis: RevelationI was dead, and behold, I am

alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. (1:18)

And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; (20:1)

kai o zwn,  kai egenomhn nekrov kai idou zwn eimi  eiv touv aiwnav twn aiwnwn,kai exw tav kleiv tou qanatou kai tou adou. Ginomai: To become, to create

with intention, in this case death Thanatou: Death and seperation Adou: Hades, the place where

the bound sinners are foundDeo: To fasten with chainsKrateo: To lay hold and

apprehend

Congregations are to call men who are well qualified personally and spiritually to be their pastors.

"Our churches teach that nobody should preach publicly in the church or administer the sacraments unless he is regularly called" (Augsburg Confession XIV).

1 Tim. 3:1-2 If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer [pastor], he desires a noble task. Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach.

2 Tim. 2:2 The things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.

2 Tim. 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a

workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

1 Cor. 14:33-34 As in all the congregations of the saints, women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says.

Note: See also 1 Tim. 2:11-14. • Pray: Grant me and all listeners a

grateful heart, that we may share all good things with those who teach us the word, rejoice in them, and not forsake them. Then we may be blessed by You, according to Your promise, in all the works of our hands. Preserve us from hirelings, timeservers, unfaithful laborers, and hypocrites, who falsely deceive the hearts of the righteous. Amen. (Johann Habermann, 1516-90).

Th Pastors called

The keys unravel from the source of all forgivenessCatastophe means to “unravel”Tolkien creates the word

“eucatastrophe” to describe the moment in which an incredible act of pure salvation occurs to “unravel” all the evil that is about to be done

Christ is the “Eucatastophe” that flows through the Church and its authority on earth.

Keys: Eucatastrophe

Gandalf! I thought you were dead! But then I thought I was dead myself. Is everything sad going to come untrue?“

The Resurrection is the eucatastrophe of the story of the Incarnation — This story begins and ends in joy

Keys: Eucatastrophe

Pray: Merciful God, You have commanded us through Your only-begotten Son to pray for laborers in Your harvest. I earnestly beg You, grant us, Your sheep, pastors according to Your heart, to feed us with doctrine and wisdom. Put learned bishops, Christian pastors, pious teachers over Your congregation, faithfully to show the true way to eternal life. Fill them with Your Holy Spirit, so that they may fruitfully proclaim the holy and precious word of the Gospel, and sincerely complete Your work. Grant them a courageous heart that without fear or favor they may lift up their voices and put the adversaries to silence. Open the door for their word, that they may be blessed and go from strength to strength. May they also be shining examples for the flocks entrusted to their care. Amen. (Johann Habermann, 1516-90).

TLH 382 1. Lord, we confess our numerous faults;

How great our guilt has been,How vain and foolish all our thoughts,And all our lives were sin.

2. But, O my soul, forever praise,Forever love, His nameWho turns thy feet from dangerous waysOf folly, sin, and shame.

3. 'Tis not by works of righteousnessWhich our own hands have done,But we are saved by God's free graceAbounding through His Son.

4. 'Tis from the mercy of our GodThat all our hopes begin;'Tis by the Water and the BloodOur souls are washed from sin.

5. 'Tis through the purchase of His death

Who hung upon the treeThe Spirit is sent down to breatheOn such dry bones as we.

6. Raised from the dead, we live anew;And justified by grace.We shall appear in glory, too,And see our Father's face.

Sing it!

Conclusion"When I urge you to go to confession, I am simply urging you to be a Christian.” -Large CatConfession 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.Before God we should plead guilty of all sins, even those we are not aware of, as we do in the Lord's Prayer; but before the pastor we should confess only those sins which we know and feel in our hearts.Consider your place in life according to the Ten Commandments: Are you a father, mother, son, daughter, husband, wife, or worker? Have you been disobedient, unfaithful, or lazy? Have you been hot-tempered, rude, or quarrelsome? Have you hurt someone by your words or deeds? Have you stolen, been negligent, wasted anything, or done any harm? The first part of confession is that we confess, or acknowledge, our sins. Before God we should plead guilty of all sins, even those we are not aware of, as we do in the Lord's Prayer. Before our neighbor we should confess all sins we have committed against him. Before the pastor or confessor we confess those sins

which we know and feel in our hearts, especially those that trouble us. Note: No one may be forced to make private confession.The second part of confession is that we receive absolution, that is, forgiveness of sins. We should receive the pastor's absolution as from God Himself, not doubting, but firmly believing that by it our sins are forgiven before God in heaven."It is not the voice or word of the man who speaks it, but it is the Word of God, who forgives sin, for it is spoken in God's stead and by God's command" (Augs Conf). The pastor is pledged not to tell anyone else of sins told him in private confession, for those sins have been removed. In private confession and absolution, God Himself through the pastor forgives each individual the sins that are confessed."If there is a heart that feels its sin and desires consolation, it has here a sure refuge when it hears in God's Word that through a man God looses and absolves him from his sins" (Large Cat).

Church Discipline and Excommunication

Next Time…(3/2)