Pastor, I Have a Question August 2012

QUESTION: God forgives all our sins, even those we don’t remember. Some older folks believe that, after a lifetime of being abusive and cruel, they can speak their minds after a certain age, no matter how cruel their words may be. If they continue hurting people with their words with no thought of repentance, will they be forgiven?
ANSWER: Seniors have many privileges. Businesses grant senior citizen discounts. God would have us respect them (Leviticus 19:32, I Timothy 5:1-2). God does not grant seniors permission to sin. God does not grant anyone permission to sin.
Throughout the history of believers, there have been some who believed God’s forgiving grace was a license to sin. In His grace, God sent Jesus to rescue us from sin, death, and the power of the devil. Throughout His life, Jesus obeyed God’s Law without committing one sin. Upon the cross, Jesus endured the wrath of God on behalf of every single sinner. Jesus did this as our Substitute. He stood in for us. Those who believe in Him are covered in His holiness and enjoy forgiveness. Our church proclaims this great news to all people. Those who believe on Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit receive His gracious word of forgiveness and have eternal life. God’s grace costs Jesus His life. To us, it is free. We need not and cannot do anything to merit God’s grace. God gives us His grace and the faith by which it becomes our own.
An unbeliever might think God’s free grace is an excuse to sin. This attitude is a sign of an unrepentant soul. The Augsburg Confession states, “Now, repentance consists properly of these two parts: One is contrition, that is, terrors smiting the conscience through the knowledge of sin; the other is faith, which is born of the Gospel, or of absolution, and believes that, for Christ’s sake, sins are forgiven, comforts the conscience, and delivers from its terrors. The good works are bound to follow, which is the fruit of repentance” (AC, Article XII).
Believers, born anew of water and the Holy Spirit, live a life of repentance. Dr. Luther taught us to live our Baptism, writing: “The old Adam in us should, by daily contrition and repentance, be drowned and die with all sins and evil lusts; and that a new man daily come forth and arise, who shall live before God in righteousness and purity forever.” This is written by St. Paul, Romans 6:4, “We are buried with Christ by baptism into death, that just as He was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
We invite spiritual disaster if we grow careless about sin. By continuing in sin, excusing and defending it, we allow sin to rule in our hearts as when we were unbelievers. To persist in sin, will soon drive the Holy Spirit and faith from our lives. Paul warned, “If you live according to the sinful nature, you will die” (Romans 8:13). Stubborn, willful sin is more dangerous to faith than sins of weakness. For the latter, we flee to Jesus’ cross for mercy. For the former, we do not.
This sounds paradoxical but it is true: if we treat sin as the evil it is and run to our Savior’s gracious arms, it cannot harm us. Christ has paid for it all! If we treat sin as harmless and defend and excuse it, we give sin the power to destroy us in hell.
Mature, aging, long-time believers pray for the help of the Holy Spirit to grow in love and mercy. We rejoice that Jesus forgives all sins, even persistent sins with which we struggle but we long for change. St. Peter speaks of our struggle this way: “Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious” (1 Peter 2:1–3).
Rev. Charles Keeler
Resurrection Lutheran Church
Winter Haven, FL
cjohnk@aol.com