Read the Large Catechism with me.
Ten-minute studies on short readings from the Large Catechism.
Let's do this.
Click on the link below and read the short assigned reading. Then, if you have time, check out what I have to say about it. If not, no problem. Just soak up the goodness of the LC.
The Lord's Prayer, Fifth Petition: Click here and read 85-98.
The basics:
- And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
- This petition relates to our poor miserable life, which, although we have and believe the Word of God, and submit to His will, and are supported by His gifts, is nevertheless not without sin.
- He forgives our sins even without our prayer, because He gives us the Gospel, which is nothing but total forgiveness.
- Because we are sinful, it is ceaselessly necessary that we obtain consolation to comfort our conscience.
- This prayer keeps us humble. Anyone who boasts of his godliness must consider himself and place this prayer before his eyes, and he will find that he is no better than others, and that in the presence of God, all must be humbled, and be glad that they can attain forgiveness.
- Confident prayers and a joyful heart spring from nothing else than the certain knowledge of the forgiveness of sins.
- Just as we daily sin against God, and yet He forgives everything through grace, so we, too, must ever forgive our neighbor who does us injury, violence, and wrong.
- "Dear Father, for this reason I come and pray Thee to forgive me, not that I can make satisfaction, or can merit anything by my works, but because Thou hast promised and attached the seal thereto that I should be as sure as though I had absolution pronounced by Thyself."
My thoughts today:
I have always been a pretty deep theological thinker. Not that I knew very much, but I always had questions. I distinctly remember questioning forgiveness as I was growing up. I remember many conversations with my mom based around this question -
Young Kelly: OK, so I ask for forgiveness and God forgives me.,.then, I tell a lie, step off the curb, and get killed by a car. What happens then?
I really struggled with this concept, because I was raised in a holiness movement church. I knew my biggest responsibility was to avoid sinning. And although there are a lot of Lutherans out there that would shudder at what I am about to say, the truth is, we should be trying to avoid sin. I should make that a priority in my life. Will I be able to succeed? No, of course not. Luther says in this reading, "...we have Satan at our back, who sets upon us on every side, and fights (as we have heard) against all the foregoing petitions, so that it is not possible always to stand firm in such a persistent conflict."
But nevertheless, I keep fighting sin with the help of God.
The conscience is Satan's playground, though, and that is why teaching that we are able to live a holy life is so very dangerous. When we inevitably fall to the persistent conflict, we become unsure of our salvation. When that car hits us on the road before we were able to get in that last confession, we don't know where we will be headed. We become a walking target for Satan to attack our stumbles, and convince our conscience that we have not earned God's mercy.
So, we teach that we are poor miserable sinners, needing daily repentance, and that our sufficiency is found in Christ. His ceaseless prayers on our behalf cover our stumbles, and we can finally feel free in the Gospel. No action of mine can earn my ticket to heaven. It has been purchased for me with the Blood of the Lamb. And that ticket is as sure as God Himself.
