Today we’re going to jump ahead and think about one of the last parts of the Apostles’ Creed – the Forgiveness of Sins.

Sin is rebellion

We sin when we think or say or do anything wrong.  All these wrong things help the Devil to build up his kingdom in this world, and when we sin we are really fighting against God just as the Devil does.

In time of war one of the worst things anyone can do is to be a traitor, that is, to work with the enemy and fight against one’s Queen and country.  How much worse it is when the enemy is the Devil and we, who are soldiers of Christ, become traitors to God.  Rebellion against the Queen is called treason.  Sin is treason against God. 

Forgiveness

In history not many traitors have been forgiven.  One who was forgiven was Lambert Simnel and Henry VII sent him into the Palace kitchens to wash dishes.  When God forgives us, he takes us back and treats us as loyal sons and daughters.  This is because God loves us so much and because Jesus Christ, his Son and our Saviour, suffered on the Cross in order to win forgiveness for us.  If it were not for God’s love and forgiveness we should be left in the Devil’s power for him to do as he liked with us, and nothing could be worse than that.

Being sorry

What do we have to do, then, to make it possible for our sins to be forgiven?  First of all we have to be sorry for the wrong we have done.  If a friend of yours had done something nasty to you and was not a bit sorry about it, your just saying “I forgive you” would not put things right.  In order to be friends again he or she would have to be sorry, otherwise it would not make any difference.

Owning up

So we must first be sorry, and when we are sorry we must confess or own up to it; just as your friend would say to you, “I’m sorry I did so and so to you”.  Until people say that, you know they are not sorry.  If we are sorry we say so; if we are not sorry we don’t. 

Resolving not to do it again

Besides being sorry and saying we are sorry, we must also show we are sorry by making up our minds not to do the same thing again.  If your friend, whilst being forgiven by you in the morning, was thinking of doing the same nasty thing to you in the afternoon, he or she wouldn’t be sorry at all even though “sorry” had been said.  And when we have sinned against God, we can receive his forgiveness only if we truly resolve not to commit those sins again.

The importance of forgiveness

Jesus was born and died that we might be forgiven

Sin separates us from God, and it was in order to save us from being separated from God for ever by our sins that Jesus came into the world.  He knew before he came that he would be crucified, but that was a price he was willing to pay to save your soul and mine.  So he was born in Bethlehem that we might be forgiven, and he died on the Cross that we might be forgiven.  At the Last Supper, as he looked ahead to his Crucifixion the next day, he said, “…this is my blood…which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (NRSV, Matthew 26:28).  And at the very moment that he was being nailed to the Cross on Good Friday he prayed, “Father, forgive them…” (NRSV, Luke 23:34). 

What the Crucifixion tells us

So the Crucifixion tells us two things.  It shows how much God loves us and how much he hates sin.  He would never have gone through all that unless he loved us more than we can ever know.  But equally he would never have gone through all that unless he hated our sins more than we can ever know.  Since, therefore, Jesus was actually crucified to take away our sins and to give us forgiveness, we can see how important it must be that we should gain that forgiveness.  For, if we are not forgiven, then as far as we are concerned, Jesus laid down his life for nothing.

The first thing Jesus did after his Crucifixion and Resurrection was to give his Apostles the authority and power to forgive sins in his name.  That same power and authority is given to priests of the Church of God when they are ordained to the priesthood.

Being forgiven by God

Personal arrow prayers

If you have thought or said or done something wrong, try to turn straight back to God.  You can use an arrow prayer – a short, quick prayer offered silently anywhere where you happen to be, in the playground, on the bus, at home.  You can use your own words.  You might, for example say, “Dear God, I’m sorry, I’ve done wrong – please forgive me”.

Personal evening prayers

Every evening before we go to sleep we should say our prayers.  This should include thinking over the day and pinpointing anything wrong we have thought or said or done.  Then we should bring these sins before God, tell him we are very sorry and that we will try hard not to sin again.  Ask his help in keeping this resolve. 

During church services

A general prayer of confession, said by everyone together, forms part of the Eucharist and other services such as Evensong.  It’s easy to get so used to saying the words that we don’t think about them and don’t recall our sins.  So we should make a point of silently remembering our sins and really using the words to talk to God and tell him we are sorry and will try not to sin again.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation (Penance)

Many people find it helpful to confess their sins regularly to a priest in the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Penance).  They should certainly do so before Easter and if they have committed a serious sin.  Usually priests hear confessions in church.  You go up to where the priest is sitting, kneel down, and confess all the wrong things you can remember having thought and said and done.  After that the priest offers you some advice or encouragement, and then gives you God’s forgiveness.

There are three things you should remember about confession to a priest.  First, in order to have God’s forgiveness, you must own up to every sin you can remember and not keep anything back.  Secondly, the priest is under a solemn vow, which can never be broken, not to mention to anyone anything heard in a confession.  And thirdly, priests don’t think any the worse of people who confess their sins; in fact they admire them all the more because of their loyalty to Jesus, which they show by going to confession.

New beginnings

When we have pinpointed particular sins, have told God we are sorry for them and made up our minds not to do them again, then God gives us a new beginning and we should get up, so to speak, and go forward leaving the past behind us with no feelings of guilt.

We are all sinners, however, and we know that we shall sin again.  The important thing is to turn back to God, tell him we are sorry for letting him down, and never ever give up trying to be his loyal friends.

SUMMARY

1. We sin when we think or say or do what is wrong.  Sin is rebellion against God so when we – who are soldiers of Christ – sin, we become traitors and fight on the Devil’s side.

2. God forgives us if we are sorry and say we are sorry, and show we are sorry by making up our minds not to sin again.