Why Do We Confess Our Sins Every Week?

It's interesting to consider this question: "If we don't RE-baptize since we believe God 'got it right the first time,' then why do we confess our sins every week?  Didn't God get the forgiveness thing right the first time, too?"

When it comes to forgiveness, Jesus got it right 2000 years ago when He won the forgiveness of sins for us on the cross.  Now our forgiveness is a guarantee.  Every time we turn to God seeking His mercy for Jesus' sake, we receive it.  

In fact, THAT is the faith we are baptized into!  When we are baptized, God sets us aside for a life lived according to THAT story, a story where we: 1) strive to walk according to his way; 2) fall into sin because we are born sinful and cannot save ourselves; 3) hear the call of the Holy Spirit through the Law's accusation and the Gospel's promise of forgiveness; and 4) trusting those promises, we ask for forgiveness and begin to walk in God's ways again (i.e., we repent).  That is the shape of a Christian life.

A person who feels that they have "fallen from the faith" and needs to be RE-baptized has missed the fact that they are living their life in EXACTLY the shape that they were baptized into.  They fell away for one reason or another, but God faithfully called them back to Himself, and now they are responding to that call.  That is the faith of their FIRST baptism at work, whether they realize it or not!

And that is also why we confess our sins in our services every week:  We are sinners and we need to hear the good news that we are forgiven for Christ's sake!  "Absolution" is nothing more (and definitely nothing less) than the Holy Spirit doing His work of calling, gathering, enlightening, sanctifying and keeping us in the Christian faith.

But don't think that confessing your sins once a week is "enough"! We don't "store up" our sins for a once a week absolution. You can confess your sins to God anytime you realize that you've fallen into sin. (And if you come to see me to confess privately, you will also hear the words of absolution (i.e., forgiveness) spoken to you. Some people need to hear the absolution spoken in the middle of the week, and that's one of the reasons God gave us pastors. More on this later.)

Every individual Christian's life will vary in its details, but many Christians come to services on Sunday and their consciences aren't burdened at that moment by any particular sin. So what are they confessing? Most are simply confessing that they are still sinners (generally speaking) and are constantly in need of forgiveness. When I speak the words of absolution (e.g., "In the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sins..."), that forgiveness covers the sins you are aware of, the ones you aren't, and even your general sinfulness. Jesus' sacrifice on the cross was "once, for all," we just need to hear about it more than once!