Both Anglicans and Lutherans hold to the 5 Solas of the Protestant Reformation. Therefore, a sacerdotal New Testament clergy, with a mediatorial role between God and His saints, is not needed. Sacramental confession to a priest is not needed for forgiveness; instead, genuine faith in our Lord’s shed blood, and proper contrition with fruits proceeding, is necessary. We can receive the forgiveness of sins freely for Christ’s sake through faith in Him. When God grants the gifts of repentance and faith to a sinner, and they trust in Christ, they are freely forgiven through God’s grace through the work and merits of Christ alone. Both Anglican and Lutheran laity have a firm grasp on the understanding that we can confess our sins to God in private without the ministry of a priest or pastor. Yet God gives us the gift of the Holy Ministry to furnish His Church with pastors who are willing and able to pronounce absolution of our sins in Jesus name when we truly repent. Ministers in both traditions have the privilege of hearing private confessions without the superstitious additions found in Roman Catholicism, such as making extravagant reparations for sins instead of trusting in Christ’s sole atonement for our forgiveness. Scripture tells us to: “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16). When discussing confession and absolution of sins within the realms of Anglican and Lutheran theology and practice, a few discernible differences must be mentioned while other similarities are highlighted.
For Lutherans with a quia subscription to the Book of Concord, the sacred rite of Confession and Absolution, also called Repentance, is considered a Sacrament of our Lord Jesus Christ2, in addition to the two Holy Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper that Luther mentions in his Large Catechism3, in which His forgiveness is assured by the sacramental proclamation of the Pastor, by which the Keys of the Kingdom are invoked: “Whoever’s sins you forgive, they are forgiven them” (John 20:23). If confession is absolutely necessary given its status as a divine Sacrament, confession and absolution are necessary before partaking of the most precious Body and Blood of Christ. Dying in a state of mortal sin separates the believer eternally from God4 so believers are encouraged to make constant use of the Lord’s Sacraments. Depending on the Lutheran pastor and theologian only the two common Dominical Sacraments are recognized, excluding Absolution. Concerning the question of “What is Confession?” Luther responds in his Small Catechism: “Confession embraces two parts: the one is, that we confess our sins; the other, that we receive absolution, or forgiveness, from the confessor, as from God Himself, and in no wise doubt, but firmly believe, that our sins are thereby forgiven before God in heaven.” The confessor takes the place of Christ, as St. Paul mentions when forgiving the man who committed fornication with his mother-in-law in Corinth: “To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ; lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices” (2 Corinthians 2:10-12). This absolution, when pronounced by the Minister, is absolutely efficacious, because it is based on the Word and promise of Christ to forgive our sins. Divine Service Setting 3, used at the beginning of the Holy Communion liturgy in many churches, makes confession of sins necessary for the progression of worship: “I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment… Almighty God, our maker and redeemer, we poor sinners confess unto You that we are by nature sinful and unclean and that we have sinned against You by thought, word, and deed. Wherefore we flee for refuge to Your infinite mercy, seeking and imploring Your grace for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ.”5
Pastors are taught how to properly catechize Christians for confession and absolution. The confession of ones sins, whether privately to Christ, before a Pastor, or with a brother and sister in Christ is essential to the power of the Gospel. Because, without repentance, there is no remission of sins. Our Lord’s Gospel proclaims both repentance and remission of sins in the name of Jesus. By virtue of the office of the Holy Ministry entrusted to Pastors, Christ has enabled Ministers to stand in His stead and offer His forgiveness for the truly penitent. This is a great comfort to believers because forgiveness releases us from shame, guilt and the torments of sin and Satan. It is understandable why Absolution may be considered a Sacrament because of it’s promise of direct and free forgiveness from God without the addition of works or merits. Having a relationship of trust with a Pastor, whereby sins can be confessed under the Seal of Confession, can aid weary and burdened consciousness and refill a broken soul with the Holy Spirit. Sins are forgotten, washed away, destroyed and annihilated during Confession and Absolution. Thus this grace-filled rite should be highly cherished and spread abroad. The Lutheran Service book provides an awesome office for this sacramental rite.
For Anglicans, that awesome adage concerning Confession & Absolution always comes to mind: “all may; none must; some should.” Every saint is entitled to a ceremony of priestly absolution, yet no one is compelled, even though some are by conscience; and others absolutely should go to confession because they are living in grave sins that will ultimately destroy their souls. Confession and absolution are engrained in the worship of Anglican churches. Kneeling in confession and receiving pastoral pronunciation of forgiveness is a weekly occurrence before reception of the Blessed Sacrament every Lord’s Day. Auricular confession has not been as common in Anglican circles as in others, but in all of the prayers and offices of the church heartfelt repentance towards God and neighbour is required. As servants of Jesus Christ, true ministers instead of sacerdotal priests, Anglican preachers have focused on steady holiness and morality preaching, keeping God’s commandments, asking for forgiveness for abandoning the will, mind and law of God in Scripture, and being wholly downtrodden when actual sins are committed. These persuasions bring a serene environment of contemplation upon unworthiness of self which leads to confession and absolution from God during the Liturgy, from private prayer, or through confession to a Bishop or Priest. Hearing the Word preached and spoken in clear evangelical homilies brings a soul to repentance. The Commination and the Great Liturgy provide deep insights into the hearts of Anglicans concerning their sins, involving great wails of mourning in desperate plea for God’s mercy, and for the cursing of those who refuse to repent. In these ways the Keys of the Kingdom are brandished and thus confession and absolution are rendered. Confession of sins also leads to right relationships with our families, church family, neighbours and friends. Thus the warning before Holy Communion urges believers to get right with God and their neighbour before approaching the Holy Table. A constant flow of confession, repentance and the reassurance of God’s forgiveness are common to the Canterbury trail. The 1662 BCP mentions private confession in two places – one in an exhortation in the order for Holy Communion, the other in the order for the Visitation of the Sick. During the Ordination ceremony of an Anglican priest according to the 1662 Ordinal, Priests are given the power to bind and loose sins according to John 20:23.
With close contact to a sincere Bishop who both confirms and ordains believers, saints in the Anglican church must be prepared to confess their sins publicly which means renouncing their sins privately. Renunciation of the world, the flesh and the Devil during Holy Baptism are another form of confession and repentance, whereby renouncing such things and putting on Christ in Baptism is true absolution. Those who are pursuing the Priesthood or Diaconate must be willing to have a confessor who they can speak to privately about their own troubles and hardships. Thus Priests must confess to other Priests. Priests should never think of themselves as being able to wield arbitrary power over others to bind or loose their sins. It is only by the will and command of Christ that sins can be forgiven, while others are sadly un-remitted in the impenitent. We should always be careful to not partake in other mens sins. Pastors should be gracious and compassionate while speaking the truth in love so as to remedy the situation by the penitent returning to God’s scriptural instructions. Grave crimes are never eligible for the Seal of Confession but must be immediately reported to local authorities. Ministers should preach holiness according to the standards of God’s Word so as to lead to conversion and prodigal returns.
