The Third Article: Rich And Daily Forgiveness
Sermon
What's That Supposed To Mean?
Using The Catechism In The 21st Century
Object:
The Apostles' Creed -- The Third Article
I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen. What does this mean? I believe that ... the Holy Ghost ... [in the Christian Church] daily and richly forgives all sins to me and all believers.
Why do churches exist? I think most people agree that churches exist to do something about wickedness. But, unfortunately, three main ideas exist about how churches should treat wickedness. A large number of churches think that the job of the church is to use political force to get rid of wickedness. They think all we have to do is pass laws and enforce them and we can get rid of poverty, crime, and violence. Other churches think that all they have to do to get rid of wickedness is to teach people how to live holy lives. Those kinds of churches are well known for all the rules they have about how to dress, how to act in public, what is forbidden. Both these groups have similar ideas. They share the common belief that if we change people's behavior, we will get rid of wickedness. We, however, believe that the church gets rid of wickedness by forgiving it.
One day, Jesus' disciples asked him who was the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. His answer came in two parts. First, whoever takes good spiritual care of children is great in God's kingdom. Jesus then went on to describe another way to be great in the kingdom of heaven: forgive sins, especially of fellow Christians. Jesus gave this as the work of the church. Jesus said, "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' 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." Notice that the church is the final court in settling a dispute between Christians.
Jesus explains why this should be this way when he went on to say, "I 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." This is the main principle of forgiveness. A church court can forgive or not forgive sins because Jesus has given the church the job of doing this on behalf of heaven itself.
Jesus then tells us what makes up a church when he said, "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." The name Jesus is the name by which all people are saved. Therefore, to gather in Jesus' name is to gather for the purpose of saving people. Jesus gave us two main ways to do this, by baptizing people, which washes away their sins, and by teaching them about forgiveness. He gave us two different ways to teach. We can proclaim the good news with words about how Jesus' death won us forgiveness, or, as Saint Paul pointed out in a letter to the Corinthians, we proclaim the death of Jesus each time we eat his body and drink his blood in Holy Communion, a meal Jesus left us that offers forgiveness of sin. So, a church can be known by one thing: are Christians handing out forgiveness when they gather together?
A true Christian church does not make holiness demands on its members before allowing them to enjoy the blessings of fellowship with Jesus. Instead, a true Christian church will seek out the wicked and work to absorb them. That's why, in our church, we let only sinners join. Remember, we all have to stand up in front of everybody at one time or another and admit that we are sinners before we can be a full communicant member! No sin is too bad, no shame too great that people cannot bring them here and have them forgiven. For it is in the church that the Holy Spirit "richly and daily forgives sins to me and all believers." As we are forgiven, the Spirit goes to work creating a new heart in us so that we can live forgiven lives. That is the promise God made in His new covenant.
Prayer: Holy Spirit of God, the Lord and the One who gives life, we thank You for the miracle of grace You work in our midst as You use the Word and sacraments of Jesus to forgive our sins and create new hearts in us. Forgive us if we ever think of our church as a club for nice people. Help us remember that we exist as a church to seek the sinners who live around us and gather them in with us to taste of the many-sided forgiveness Jesus won for us in His death and resurrection. Bless us when we reach out with that good news and prod us into action if we get lazy and indifferent. Amen.
I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen. What does this mean? I believe that ... the Holy Ghost ... [in the Christian Church] daily and richly forgives all sins to me and all believers.
Why do churches exist? I think most people agree that churches exist to do something about wickedness. But, unfortunately, three main ideas exist about how churches should treat wickedness. A large number of churches think that the job of the church is to use political force to get rid of wickedness. They think all we have to do is pass laws and enforce them and we can get rid of poverty, crime, and violence. Other churches think that all they have to do to get rid of wickedness is to teach people how to live holy lives. Those kinds of churches are well known for all the rules they have about how to dress, how to act in public, what is forbidden. Both these groups have similar ideas. They share the common belief that if we change people's behavior, we will get rid of wickedness. We, however, believe that the church gets rid of wickedness by forgiving it.
One day, Jesus' disciples asked him who was the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. His answer came in two parts. First, whoever takes good spiritual care of children is great in God's kingdom. Jesus then went on to describe another way to be great in the kingdom of heaven: forgive sins, especially of fellow Christians. Jesus gave this as the work of the church. Jesus said, "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' 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." Notice that the church is the final court in settling a dispute between Christians.
Jesus explains why this should be this way when he went on to say, "I 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." This is the main principle of forgiveness. A church court can forgive or not forgive sins because Jesus has given the church the job of doing this on behalf of heaven itself.
Jesus then tells us what makes up a church when he said, "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." The name Jesus is the name by which all people are saved. Therefore, to gather in Jesus' name is to gather for the purpose of saving people. Jesus gave us two main ways to do this, by baptizing people, which washes away their sins, and by teaching them about forgiveness. He gave us two different ways to teach. We can proclaim the good news with words about how Jesus' death won us forgiveness, or, as Saint Paul pointed out in a letter to the Corinthians, we proclaim the death of Jesus each time we eat his body and drink his blood in Holy Communion, a meal Jesus left us that offers forgiveness of sin. So, a church can be known by one thing: are Christians handing out forgiveness when they gather together?
A true Christian church does not make holiness demands on its members before allowing them to enjoy the blessings of fellowship with Jesus. Instead, a true Christian church will seek out the wicked and work to absorb them. That's why, in our church, we let only sinners join. Remember, we all have to stand up in front of everybody at one time or another and admit that we are sinners before we can be a full communicant member! No sin is too bad, no shame too great that people cannot bring them here and have them forgiven. For it is in the church that the Holy Spirit "richly and daily forgives sins to me and all believers." As we are forgiven, the Spirit goes to work creating a new heart in us so that we can live forgiven lives. That is the promise God made in His new covenant.
Prayer: Holy Spirit of God, the Lord and the One who gives life, we thank You for the miracle of grace You work in our midst as You use the Word and sacraments of Jesus to forgive our sins and create new hearts in us. Forgive us if we ever think of our church as a club for nice people. Help us remember that we exist as a church to seek the sinners who live around us and gather them in with us to taste of the many-sided forgiveness Jesus won for us in His death and resurrection. Bless us when we reach out with that good news and prod us into action if we get lazy and indifferent. Amen.
