Lesson 13 Confession And The Keys Questions 261-284

A. Carefully read and think about Questions 261-284 in the Small Catechism

B. Write down at least 5 Important Things that you discovered in your reading 1.

C. Agree-Disagree Questions: Read and think about each of the following Agree-Disagree statements. Answer each statement and write a brief reason to support the answer you gave.

___ 1. In the section called Confession, God reminds us that sin is our greatest problem and that forgiveness of sins is our greatest need.

___ 2. Refusing to admit our sins to God and to others is a foolish, dishonest, attempt to avoid responsibility for the wrongs we have done, especially since God already knows all about them.

___ 3. We need to confess to people only the sins that we have committed against them or that trouble our consciences.

___ 4. We need to confess to God only the sins we can remember doing.

____ 5. Absolution is the assurance of God’s forgiveness that is spoken or verbally expressed by one of God’s people to a repentant person.

___ 6. If someone comes to us to confess a sin that is troubling him, we should do our best to assure them of God’s forgiveness and not tell anyone about the sin or sins confessed to us.

___ 7. The Office or Ministry of the Keys is a special authority God has given His Christians to forgive sins to those who are contrite and to withhold forgiveness from those who are not contrite.

___ 8. All people should be assured that God forgives them even if they are not sorry for their sins.

___ 9. Only people who are sincerely repentant can enjoy God’s forgiveness.

___ 10. The pastor or other called spiritual leader of the congregation publicly uses the authority of the Keys publicly on behalf of Christ and the believers in the church.

___ 11. According to God’s requirements in the Bible, only men who are personally and spiritually qualified are eligible to be Christian pastors.

___ 12. When dealing with an unrepentant sinner, God teaches us to apply His Word faithfully to that person with great love and patience.

___ 13. A Christian congregation will take the action of declaring a person to be a non-Christian (excommunication) only when it is clear that they are persistently unrepentant for their sin.

___ 14. The purpose of excommunication is to remove people with difficulty personalities from the church.

___ 15. If a person who has been removed from the congregation for unrepentant sin later does repent, they are to be forgiven and welcomed again as a believing member of the congregation.

D. Reflection Questions

Write a prayer of personal confession to God.
Select and share three Bible verses you would use to assure a repentant person that God forgives him.
List three sins that people may commit that might specially trouble their consciences and would be helped by personal confession to a pastor or fellow Christian.

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