Theme: Strive to Enter Through the Narrow Door
Learn by Heart
Verse: Psalm 51:7
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Hymn: “To Jordan Came Our Lord, the Christ” | ELH #247:1-3
Listen to the tune here.
The Catechism: The Office of the Keys
What is the Office of the Keys?
The Office of the Keys is the special authority which Christ has given to His Church on earth: to forgive the sins of repentant sinners, but to retain the sins of the unrepentant as long as they do not repent.
Where is this written?
The evangelist writes, in John 20:22-23, “Jesus breathed on His disciples and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; and if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’”
What do you believe according to these words?
I believe that when the called servants of Christ deal with us by His divine command, specifically, when they exclude public, unrepentant sinners from the Christian congregation, and absolve those who repent of their sins and want to amend their ways, this is just as valid and certain in heaven as if Christ our dear Lord has done it Himself.
