Sola Devotions

Concerning Confession – part 5

Scripture Text: 1 Corinthians 10:12–13

• Index

  Click for a recording of today’s devotion.

1 Corinthians 10:12–13

From the Confessions: The Defense of the Augsburg Confession

Concerning Confession 

Concerning the enumeration of sins in confession, we teach people in such a way as not to ensnare their consciences. There is an advantage to accustom inexperienced people to enumerate some things so that they may be more easily taught, but we are discussing here what is necessary according to divine law. So, the adversaries ought not to cite for us the regulation Omnis Utriusque. We know this rule, so they should instead show us in the divine law that an enumeration of sins is necessary for obtaining forgiveness.

Pulling It Together

As has been stated before, our focus should be Christ, not our sins. One can spend so much time in introspection and the endless recounting of sin that Christ is lost in the shuffle. Let us, as needed, name those specific sins that have ensnared us so that we may be instructed how to escape (1 Cor 10:13). But may we be content to confess that we are sinners—indeed, poor, miserable sinners—so that we may focus on the one who has saved us from our sins. May Christ be the focus of confession, not our sins which, as always, slyly tempt us to concentrate overly much upon ourselves. 

Prayer: Lord, let me see you more clearly. Amen.

The Norm of Faith, part two of Sola Scriptura, shows how an active view of the Word informs and guides our understanding of what Scripture says. In other words, it will talk about what the Bible means based on what it does. In terms of how we come to articulate our faith and our doctrinal teachings, to speak of Scripture as the "norm" of faith means that it is the standard against which our theology and proclamation are measured.

Click Here For Content Archives