God’s great GIFT

Have you ever had someone say to you, ‘You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone’?

Perhaps this statement can awaken our interest in a wonderful gift that God has given each and every one of his children.

God gave us this gift so that we grow as his children. He also gave us this gift so that we could go to others and live out our baptismal faith. This gift can increase our appreciation of what he has done for us through the gospel, the suffering, death and resurrection of his Son!

Biblical reconciliation is equipping us to use the gift of confession and forgiveness with each other.

This gift is confession and forgiveness. The psalmist writes about it, ‘I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”, and you forgave the guilt of my sin’ (Psalm 32:5). The apostle John speaks of it when he says, ‘If we confess our sins, he [God] is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness’ (1 John 1:9).

We rightly call worship ‘divine service’ because God comes to serve us. Through the word in worship, the Holy Spirit opens us up to our failures and sin, so that he can serve us by enacting the gospel and taking away the burdens that affect our relationships with him and each other. So, as God’s children, we are free to confess to God in worship so that we hear his proclamation, ‘I forgive you all your sin!’

Is that your motivation to go to worship? Do you confess your sin to God because you long to hear the gospel? Do you treasure this gift of confession and forgiveness in the divine service which prepares you to live with confession and forgiveness in your relationship with others every day?

Through the word, the Holy Spirit encourages us to ‘confess your sins to one another’ (James 5:16), to forgive as the Lord has forgiven you (Colossians 3:13). We ask this of God every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer.

So why do we struggle and neglect to confess our sin to those we have sinned against? Is it because of pride, shame, or the fear that our confession might be used against us?

The Holy Spirit encourages the use of this gift because it provides the opportunity to hear and receive the joy and peace of the gospel! Biblical reconciliation is equipping us to use the gift of confession and forgiveness with each other. The Spirit also leads us to listen to others and be ready to share the gospel when they speak of their failures and sin.

The use of this gift of confession and forgiveness is not a case of ‘moving on’. Rather, it is the power of the gospel at work so that our relationships are moving forwards!

God’s gift of confession and forgiveness is for us to grow. It is also his gift for us to use as we go!

Contact Reconciliation Ministry at:

a: 197 Archer Street,
North Adelaide SA 5006

e: paul.kerber@lca.org.au

p: 08 8267 7300
or mobile: 0400 186 916

Paul Kerber is the LCA’s Assistant to the Bishop – Reconciliation Ministry.

This feature story comes from The Lutheran July 2016. Visit the website to find out more about The Lutheran or to subscribe.