June 25, 2025
494 years ago today the Lutheran princes presented the Augsburg Confession to Emperor Charles V, thus becoming the first confessional Church body. May our Lord continue to grant us the courage to boldly confess the truth of salvation by grace through faith for the sake of Christ in the face of controversy and persecution.
Repaying Evil -- Part 2
Genesis 50:16-17
06/25/2024
16 So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, ``Your
father gave this command before he died,
17 ``Say to Joseph, `Please forgive the transgression
of your brothers and their sin, because they did
evil to you.' And now, please forgive the
transgression of the servants of the God of your
father.''' Joseph wept when they spoke to him.
(ESV)
Joseph, who had been sold into slavery by his brothers,was
now in a position to exact revenge. Their father, Jacob, had
died. The brothers thought that Joseph did not act in
retribution because that would grieve their father, but now that
protection did not exist.
So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, ``Your father
gave this command before he died, ``Say to Joseph,
`Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and
their sin, because they did evil to you.' And now,
please forgive the transgression of the servants of the
God of your father.'' Joseph wept when they spoke to
him.
With this message, the brothers confessed their guilt to
Joseph. Almost two millenia later the Apostle John would write:
``If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth
is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.''[1]
By confessing our sins we obtain mercy. Christ Jesus, who
was promised to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the children of
Israel, died to pay the price of our sin. Although Jacob and his
children did not see the fulfillment of that promise, they
believed that God would forgive their sins. Today we look back
on the work Jesus accomplished on the cross and receive the same
forgiveness.
May our Lord grant us faith to believe and trust in His
promises. Amen.
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1. I John 1:8-9 (ESV)