Lessons in the Lutheran Confessions
Scripture Text: Mark 4:39–40
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From the Word: 39 And he awoke, and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace; be still.” And the wind abated, and there was a great calm. 40 And he said to them, “Why are you frightened? Have you still no faith?” (Mark 4:39–40)
From the Confessions: The Small Catechism, Confession of Sin
What sins should we confess?
Before God we should acknowledge ourselves guilty of all kinds of sins, even those of which we are not aware, as we do in the Lord’s Prayer. To the confessor (pastor), however, we should confess only those sins which we know and which trouble us.
Pulling It Together: The storms of life howl upon us, and we are frightened. The obvious example, at the moment, is the coronavirus. We shrink before the tempest, yet muster enough courage to rush out and purchase more toilet paper, soap, and sanitizer than we could use in a month of Sundays. Meanwhile, God is in our boat; Jesus is right here with us.
Now, that does not mean we should not take precautions, that we should not be sensible. It does mean, however, that we should not panic. God cares about our situation (Mark 4:38). But there is another situation that Jesus cares about as much as the storm. He cares about our faith. Have we still no faith? Can we trust God through these times? Perhaps the sin we should be confessing is lack of faith—not a trust that God will wipe out the virus, but that he would calm the storm, the one that rages within us.
Prayer: Use the storm, Jesus, to increase my faith in you. Amen.
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Why Did Jesus Have to Die? is a six-week Bible Study that examines the most profound event of salvation history — the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ — exploring from a biblical perspective what is known as the doctrine of the Atonement.
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Rev. Mark E. Ryman serves as Pastor for St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Salisbury, NC. Previously, Pastor Ryman has served other congregations in North Carolina and Ohio, as well as a call to specialized ministry with Sola Publishing.
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