For the Forgiveness of Sins

I just opened up the May 2013 issue of The Lutheran Witness, paged through it, and was stunned by the very first letter to the editor. It reads:

I just read the article, “Can’t We All Just Get Along?” in the March 2013 issue of The Lutheran Witness. I was more than a little surprised about what we Lutherans are supposed to believe regarding the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper, as beneficial as it is, does not forgive sins. Forgiveness of sins is a free gift, given by grace, those who believe in Jesus as the Son of God who died, was buried and rose again as atonement for our sins. The Lord’s Supper serves to remind us of the sacrifice of Jesus and to strengthen our faith. To say that it is a source of forgiveness is not Scriptural; it adds a “works” requirement for the free gift of God to all who believe.

Charles F. Hawkins

Beaumont, Texas

I do not know Mr. Hawkins. But what he writes above is Scripturally false. To claim the Lord’s Supper “does not forgive sins” is a denial of our Lord’s very own words. Here is Saint Matthew’s account of the institution of this Sacrament:

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” And He took a cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. [Matthew 26:26-28]

The body of Christ that was broken on the cross for the redemption of the world is the very same body He gives in this Sacrament. The blood of Christ that was poured out on the cross for the sin of the world is the very same blood He gives in this Sacrament. It is not a different body and blood, or a reminder of body and blood, or symbolic of body and blood. It is His body and blood. Jesus says so. His body and blood are the very means by which He grants forgiveness in this Sacrament. “Take, eat; ... drink of it, ... for the forgiveness of sins.”

Martin Luther confesses this beautifully in the Small Catechism:

What is the benefit of this eating and drinking?
These words, “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins,” show us that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given us through these words. For there there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.

To be charitable, perhaps Mr. Hawkins does not understand the difference between objective justification (the forgiveness Christ won for the entire world on the cross) and subjective justification (the forgiveness Christ distributes to individuals exclusively through the means of grace—Word and Sacraments).

Take, for example, Saint John’s words: “The blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). Objectively, Jesus’ blood cleanses every sinner from the creation of the world to our Lord’s second coming on the Last Day. But subjectively, Jesus’ blood needs to be applied (i.e. given, distributed) to sinners through the means of grace so that they, by God’s grace, might believe it and live from it. One of the ways in which that forgiveness is given is in the Lord’s Supper.

Then Mr. Hawkins charges that those who believe Christ forgives sins in this Sacrament are guilty of works righteousness. His words: To say that it is a source of forgiveness is not Scriptural; it adds a “works” requirement for the free gift of God to all who believe.

To be charitable, perhaps Mr. Hawkins does not understand “works.” This word, in the context he uses it, means an attempt to merit God’s grace and favor by something you do. To tie the forgiveness of sins Christ’s gives in this Sacrament to a human work is preposterous. After all, to receive our Lord’s true body and blood for the forgiveness of sins is not your work for Christ. It is Christ’s work for you. He is the Giver of this gift—the forgiveness of sins. You simply receive it in faith, according to our Lord’s words and promises. By the way, the same forgiveness is given in Holy Baptism, Holy Absolution, and the preaching of the Gospel. Like the Lord’s Supper, these gifts are also Christ’s work for you, not your work for Him.

This letter to the editor would not have surprised me had it come from someone with an evangelical, non-denominational, or “just me and Jesus” confession. But a Lutheran should know better.

I pray Mr. Hawkins will revisit our Lord’s words, Luther’s Small Catechism (cited above), and the following quotations from the Lutheran Confessions, to the end that he too might believe that our Lord Jesus Christ does indeed give forgiveness, life, and salvation in the Sacrament of the Altar. To deny the forgiveness of sins is to gut the Sacrament of its very benefit and leave it as little more than a quaint snack.

The Lord’s Supper does not give grace by the outward act (ex opera operato). ... It is impossible to receive the forgiveness of our sins because of our work by the outward act. [Apology XXIV 11-12]

Now examine further the effectiveness and benefits that really caused the Sacrament to be instituted. This is its most necessary part, so that we may know that we should seek and gain there. This is plain and clear from the words just mentioned, “This is My body and blood, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.” Briefly, that is like saying, “For this reason we go to the Sacrament: there we receive such a treasure by and in which we gain forgiveness of sins.” [Large Catechism V 20-21] 

Therefore also, it is useless talk when they say that Christ’s body and blood are not given and shed for us in the Lord’s Supper, so we could not have forgiveness of sins in the Sacrament. Although the work is done and the forgiveness of sins is secured by the cross [John 19:30], it cannot come to us in any other way than through the Word. [Large Catechism V 31] 

The entire Gospel and the articles of the Creed—I believe in ... the holy Christian Church, ... the forgiveness of sins, and so on—are embodied by the Word in this Sacrament and presented to us. [Large Catechism V 32] 

Because He offers and promises forgiveness of sin, it cannot be received except by faith. ... Whoever now accepts these words and believes that what they declare is true has forgiveness. [Large Catechism V 34-35]