Chapter VI: Of Private Confession and Absolution

This rite, in any sense of the term, that can be given to it in the Augsburg Confession and other former symbols of the Lutheran church, has long since been abandoned throughout our church in Europe, excepting in that small portion of German churches, known as Old Lutherans, and among those foreigners in the west of our country, who constitute the Missouri Synod. It is historically unjust to apply the term _private_ confession to that public confession of sins, made by the congregation collectively, as part of our preparatory exercises on sacramental occasions, and usually a misnomer to apply the name private confession, to the habit of some of our German ministers, (termed Anmeldung,) of having all communicants call on them for conversation on their spiritual state, prior to sacramental communion. Although these customs both grew out of private confession properly so called, neither of them retains its essential elements.

Let us first inquire _what does the Augsburg Confession mean by the phrase Private Confession_. Among the Romanists, _Auricular_ Confession is that rite, in which every individual of both sexes must, at least once a year, appear before the priest at the confession box in the church or chapel, and confess in detail all the sins that he can recollect; after which, the priest assigns the penitent some acts of penance, and on his promising to perform them, he then, as in the stead of God, professes to forgive him his sins. The Reformers, however, distinctly rejected the necessity of the penitents enumerating his individual sins, and the propriety of the minister's prescribing any penance to the penitent. They also distinctly made confession optional with the penitent, and the absolution dependent on his faith; and this purified rite they termed _Private_ Confession, although in some parts of the church it was still called Auricular Confession (Ohrenbeicht). [Note 1] The manner in which this rite was performed in the Lutheran Church, is thus described by _Funk_ in his work entitled "Kirchenordnungen of the first century of the Lutheran Church in Germany," in which he presents the results of thirty of the _oldest_ Lutheran Formulas of Church Discipline and Worship. "Absolution was received _privately_, by each one _individually, kneeling_ before the _confessional_, the confessor _imposing his hands_ at the time. Private confession was given only _in the church_, in which the confessional was so located _near the pulpit_, that _no other person could be near, or hear what was said_ by the penitent." [Note 2]

But

I. What does the Platform teach in regard to _this Private Confession?_ The Platform teaches, 1. That it was retained by the Augsburg Confession and other symbolical books. 2. It is objected to by the Platform, as unauthorized by the Word of God. 3. And thirdly, as being inconsistent with the fundamental doctrine of the Reformation, that _faith it the only condition_ of the justification or pardon of the sinner.

II. What does the Plea object to these positions?

1. That the impression might be made by the Platform, that the Lutheran doctrine has some affinity to the Romish doctrine of Auricular Confession. But the Platform expressly states the rejection of _Auricular_ Confession by the Reformers, and their retention of what they called private confession in its stead, the latter differing from the former as above stated. The Plea next introduces a formula of absolution, used in Wittenberg, in 1559, to show the harmlessness of the rite. But here, unfortunately, if we are not entirely mistaken, our friend has overlooked the fact, that it is a formula for _public_, and _not private_ confession which he cites. This is certain from the language throughout, being addressed "_to all such as are here present_," &c. It is well known that _private_ confession was rejected in the Lutheran Church in Denmark and Sweden in the beginning, as well as by different portions of Germany at an early day, and a public or general confession adopted in its stead. In Luther's Short Directory for Confession, &c., [[Note 3] tr. note: there is no note number in the original to go with the corresponding footnote, but this appears to be where it should go] we have his formula for _private_ or individual absolution, which will convey to the reader a more correct idea of its form: After the directions for confession of sins; the

Confessor says: "_God be merciful to thee and strengthen thy faith. Amen_."

"_Dost thou believe that my remission of thy sins is God's remission?_

Answer of the penitent: "_Yes, dear sir, I do_."

Then the confessor says: "_According to thy faith, so be it unto thee. And I, by command of our Lord Jesus Christ, forgive thee thy sins, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen. Depart in peace_."

Another specimen of private absolution we find in the Kirchenordnung, [Note 4] or Church Directory of Count _Wolfgang_, of the Palatinate, on the Rhine, &c., published in Nuernberg, 1557.

"The Almighty God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, will be gracious and merciful to thee, and will pardon all thy sins, for the sake of his dear Son Jesus Christ, who suffered and died for them. And in the name of this, our Lord Jesus Christ, by his command, and in virtue of his declaration, 'Whose sins ye remit they am remitted,' &c., _I pronounce thee free and clear of all thy sins_, that they shall all be forgiven thee, as certainly and completely, as Jesus Christ by his sufferings and death merited the same, and in his gospel has commanded it to be preached to all the world. Receive, therefore, this consoling promise, which I have now made to thee in the name of the Lord Christ, let thy conscience be at rest, and do thou confidently believe, that thy sins are assuredly forgiven thee, for Christ's sake, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Amen."

2. The Plea affirms, that private confession may be useful as a means of bringing the, members of the church into personal interview with their pastor. The advantage of such interviews we freely admit; but they can be and are secured in our churches without this rite; and as it is confessedly destitute of Scripture authority, we have no right to invent a _new ordinance_ in Christ's church for any purpose.

3. The Plea maintains that explanation of "the power of the Keys," which authorizes a minister to pronounces absolution of sins, and appeals to Matth. xviii. 18, "Whatsoever ye shall bind one arth," [sic] &c. But the previous context "tell it to the _church_" &c., clearly shows that it refers to church discipline, and signifies "whatever acts of discipline ye enact in regard to such an individual, I will ratify in heaven." But this has no bearing on private confession and absolution. The other passage from John, xx. 23, "Whosoever's sins ye remit," &c., was uttered on a different occasion, after the Saviour's resurrection; and either refers to a miraculous power bestowed on the apostles, to discern the condition of the heart, and to announce pardon to those whom they knew to be truly penitent and believing; or it confers on the ministry, in all ages, the power to announce _in general_ the conditions on which God will pardon sinners. But it contains no authority to uninspired ministers to apply these promises to individuals, the condition of whose hearts they cannot know, as is done in private absolution.

III. We therefore feel constrained to maintain the positions of the Platform on this subject also.

1. _That private confession and absolution were inculcated by the Augsburg Confession_, is so evident, that it cannot be successfully denied. Nor is this done only in the Abuses Corrected, as the Plea seems to suppose, p. 20. In Art. XI. of the Confession, we read: "In regard to confession, they teach, _that private absolution ought to be retained in the church;_ but that an enumeration of all our transgressions is not requisite to confession."

In the _Apology [Note 5] to the Confession_, Melancthon employs this language: "Wherefore it would be _impious_ to take away private absolution from the church." (Quare impium esset, &c.) _Luther_, in the Smalcald Articles, Art. VIII., says, confession and absolution ought _by no means_ be abolished in the church, &c., (Nequaquam in ecclesia confessio et absolutio abolenda est, &c.;) and he is speaking of _private_ confession.

The Romish alleged Refutation of the Augsburg Confession, on the above cited Art. XI., thus expresses its approbation: "This article (Art. XI.) that private and special absolution should remain, and be preserved in the churches is _Catholic_. Yet two things must be required of them, (of the Reformers,) that both men and women should attend confession at least once a year, &c.; secondly, to confess all the sins you _can_ recollect." [Note 6]

_Dr. Plank_, in his celebrated and elaborate History of the Origin and Changes of the Protestant Doctrinal System, [Note 7] speaking of the negotiations between the Reformers and Papists during the Diet of Augsburg, says, "On the subject of the Confessional _there was an entire agreement_, for they (the Reformers) had declared that they regarded Confession as a very useful institution, and had no idea of suffering it to fall, and also regarded it as good, that the people should be accustomed to confess their sins," viz., at the confessional.

_Siegel_, in his Manual of Christian Ecclesiastical Antiquities, [Note 8] after stating that Luther rejected _Auricular_ Confession, as a sacrament, and a means of oppressing the conscience, adds: "But, on the other hand, Luther was as unwilling as Melancthon, to have _private confession_ abolished, and the latter had, in his Loci Theologici, pronounced private absolution to be as necessary as baptism." In regard to confession in the Lutheran Church of Germany, the fact is, that private confession, which the Reformers so earnestly recommended, is almost entirely abandoned and changed into a general (and public) confession, which may with more propriety be termed preparatory services to the Lord's Supper."

Finally, we will add the testimony of only one more witness, _Prof. Jacobson_, in the excellent _Theological Encyclopedia of Dr. Herzog_, now in progress of publication in Germany, who says, "Whilst the compulsory part of the institution (private confession,) fell to the ground, each one was left to judge whether and how much he would confess. The institution itself _was retained_, and _private confession_ especially recommended. The Augsburg Confession presupposes it (private confession,) _as the rule:_" Our custom is not to give the sacrament to those who have not first been confessed and absolved;" and the Smalcald articles [sic] teach that Confession and Absolution must by no means be allowed to be omitted in the church." [Note 9]

After all this testimony, it may be regarded as incontestably established, that the former symbolical books of our church do teach _private confession_ and absolution, with some modifications, and hence, that the church in Sweden and Denmark _always rejected this part of the Augsburg Confession_, in practice, and that the entire church in Germany and the United States, which now use a _public_ confession, have made a similar departure from the teachings of the Augsburg Confession as well as of Luther, Melancthon and the other Lutheran reformers.

2. That _this rite of private confession, is unauthorized by any command of the Word of God, in so clear, that the Symbolical books themselves admit it_, and commend the rite merely on the ground of human expediency, and inferential scriptural reasoning. The same acknowledgment is made by the Plea of the Rev. Mr. Mann. In Art. XXVI. of Augsburg Confession, being Topic V. of the Abuses Corrected, the confession says: "Confession is _not commanded in Scripture_, but has been instituted _by the church_." [Note 10]

3. The rite of _private absolution_, on which the Reformers lay much stress, is in like manner destitute of scriptural authority, and most injurious to the interests of spiritual religion. The _omniscient_ Saviour could well say to the sick of the palsy, "Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee," Matt. ix. 2; for he knew the heart of man.

For the same reason he could say to Mary Magdalene, "Thy sins are forgiven." Luke vii. 48.

But, even the inspired apostles never in a single instance, either undertook to forgive sins themselves, or to announce the pardon of sin to any _individual personally_. It is therefore a solemn thing for ministers, unguided by inspiration, to assume greater power. To proclaim publicly and privately the willingness of God to pardon the impenitent, is an important and delighful [sic] part of the minister's duty; but for uninspired men to institute a special rite in the church, for the express purpose of announcing _pardon to individuals_, even when done conditionally, as the reformers maintained it always should be, is inevitably calculated to lead, especially the less intelligent, to believe their sins forgiven, at least in part, because the ministers announce the fact, and because they have professed penitence to him. But this is wholly unauthorised in God's Word. On the contrary:--

(_a_) The Scriptures throughout represent _God_, and _the Lamb of God_, as the only beings that can "forgive" and "take away" sin. Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7. The Lord passed by before him and proclaimed, "The Lord God, merciful--_forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin_."

The blessed Saviour, in his memorable prayer, teaches us to address our supplication, not to the minister, but to our _heavenly Father_, "forgive us our sins," &c., Luke xi. 4. He says nothing, nor does any writer of the Old or New Testament _say a word_ about advising a resort to the priest or minister to obtain forgiveness of sins. The same truth is taught in a multitude of other passages. We refer the reader to a few: Eph. iv. 32; Acts viii. 22; 1 John i. 9; Matth. ix. 6; Mark xi. 25; 1 Kings viii. 30; 2 Chron. vii. 14; Psalm lxxxvi. 5; Jerem. xxxi. 34; Dan. ix. 19.

(_b_) The very fact, that sin is committed essentially _against God_, is a violation of _his_ law, implies that no other being, not even an angel or archangel, much less a man, can forgive it, "Against thee, thee only have I sinned," said the Psalmist, "and done this evil in thy sight."

(_c_) The offers of pardon in God's Word, are all _conditional_ and _general_, and these alone has the minister the right to proclaim, either to a congregation or to an individual. The implication of the promise to individuals is made by the Holy Spirit, working faith in the individual, or enabling him to trust in Christ. "Being justified by faith, we have peace with God," and this peace is the believer's evidence, is the Testimony of the Spirit, that our sins are forgiven.

(_d_) The actual pardon of individuals by God, depends on their possessing the moral fitness required by him. It is based on their having performed the prescribed moral conditions sincerely, of which none but the Omniscient Jehovah can certainly judge; hence, even the declarative annunciation of pardon to individuals, is not only unauthorized but dangerous. Because, even if conditionally announced, the formality of the absolution, and the fact that the church has made a _special rite_ of it, are calculated to beget the idea, especially in the unintelligent, that the granting of absolutions by the minister, is proof of the genuineness of their faith, and reality of their pardon.

(_e_) Finally, the doctrine of ministerial absolution, or the supposed sin-forgiving power of the ministry, is inconsistent with the doctrine, that justification or pardon can be attained only by a living faith in Jesus Christ, a doctrine of cardinal importance in the eyes of the Reformers, and the one which Luther has styled the _articulus stantis vel cadentis ecclesiae_, the doctrine with which the church must stand or fall." The Scriptures and also the Reformers, teach that pardon or justification can be obtained only through the merits of Christ, which merits must be apprehended by a living faith, which living faith can be found only in the regenerate or converted soul. Hence, as none but a regenerate sinner can exercise living faith, no other can be pardoned, whatever else he may do or possess. Now those who attend confession are either regenerate, or they are not. If they were regenerated or converted before they went to confession, they had faith, and were pardoned before; if they were unregenerate or unconverted, then neither their confession, nor the priest's absolution, can confer pardon on them, because they have not a living faith, although they may be sincere and exercise some sorrow for their sins. On the other hand, if any amount of seriousness and penitence, short of true conversion or regeneration, could, through the confessional, or any other rite, confer pardon of sin; the line of distinction between converted and unconverted, between mere formalists and true Christians would be obliterated; we should have pardoned saints and pardoned sinners in the church, converted and unconverted heirs of the promise, believing and unbelieving subjects of justification, and the words of the Lord Jesus would prove a lie, "That, _unless a man be born again, he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven!_"-Def. Platform, p. 25.

On the subject of this rite, we regret to state, that a more careful study of the subject, as presented in the above results, will not permit us to speak as favorably of the practice of the Reformers, as we did in some of our former publications, twenty years ago, and even later. The positions above maintained, we think, cannot be successfully controverted, as our investigations of the original sources has been sufficiently extensive to dispel all doubt.

Note 1. See Koecher, p. 515.

Note 2. Funk's Kirchenordnungen, pp. 189, 190.

Note 3. Mueller's Symb. B., p. 364.

Note 4. Page 97.

Note 5. Mueller's Symb. B., p. 185.

Note 6. Pleiffer, p. 534. [sic]

Note 7. Vol. iii. pt. 1, p. 125.

Note 8. Vol. i., pp. 199, 206.

Note 9. Vol. iv., p. 781.

Note 10. Lutheran Manual, p. 293.