Welcome
Help support this site:
Sermon List
Search
About
The following reading from the CONCORDIA edition of the Book of Concord is for the Old Testament, Isaiah 65:88-91 for the Pentecost 5, Proper 7, series C, June 23, 2013. It is from Large Catechism, page 419. There is not a person among us who does not walk in a way that is not good, following our own devices. We must daily ask for forgiveness. Click here for the reading formatted for the back of a standard CPH bulletin. Pastor Doug May
There is great need for us to call upon God and to pray, "Dear Father, forgive us our trespasses." It is not as though He did not forgive sin without and even before our prayer. (He has given us the Gospel, in which is pure forgiveness before we prayed or ever thought about it.) But the purpose of this prayer is that we may recognize and receive such forgiveness. The flesh in which we daily live is of such a nature that it neither trusts nor believes God. It is ever active in evil lusts and devices, so that we sin daily in word and deed, by what we do and fail to do. By this the conscience is thrown into unrest, so that it is afraid of God's wrath and displeasure. So it loses the comfort and confidence derived from the Gospel. Therefore, it is always necessary that we receive consolation to comfort the conscience again. This serves God's purpose of breaking our pride and keeping us humble. God has reserved this right for Himself: if anyone wants to boast of his godliness and despise others, that person is to think about himself and place this prayer before his eyes. He will find that he is no better than others and that in God's presence all must tuck their tails and be glad that they can gain forgiveness. Let no one think that as long as he lives here he can reach such a position that he will not need such forgiveness. In short, if God does not forgive without stopping, we are lost. (paragraphs 88-91)
These are excerpts from the Book of Concord.
|
Unique Visitors: