"VERBUM DEI MANET IN AETERNUM." This phrase is better known to English speakers as "the Word of God abides forever" or "the Word of God endures forever". It is also part of the insignia of Concordia Publishing House, which published my copy of Dr. Martin Luther's Small Catechism. The exact year of printing is not listed on the book, but the copyright is listed as 1943 and 1971, with minor revisions in 1965.
This catechism provides, in simple terms, an explanation of the Lutheran position on pastoral absolution. The following quotes are from pages 188 to 192.
What is Confession? Confession embraces two parts. One is that we confess our sins; the other, that we receive absolution, or forgiveness, from the pastor as from God Himself, and in no wise doubt, but firmly believe, that by it our sins are forgiven before God in heaven.
284. What is the first part of Confession? The first part of Confession is that we confess, or acknowledge, our sins.
285. What sins should we confess before God? Before God we should plead guilty of all sins, even of those which we do not know, as we do in the Fifth Petition of the Lord's Prayer and in the General Confession.
286. What sins should we confess before the pastor? Before the pastor we should confess those sins only which we know and feel in our hearts.
So from this it would seem that Lutheran's have a dual faceted perspective on forgiveness. We are held responsible to confess our general state of sinfulness to God, but individual, known sins come (more directly) under the ministry of the pastor.
287. What is the second part of Confession? The second part of Confession is that we receive absolution, or the forgiveness of sins.
288. How should we regard the absolution, or forgiveness of sins, pronounced by the pastor? We should regard the absolution as if pronounced by God Himself and in no wise doubt, but firmly believe, that by it our sins are forgiven before God in heaven.
This is doubtlessly a corollary of their belief in the Office of the Keys. From page 18:
What is the Office of the Keys? It is the peculiar church power which Christ has given to His Church on earth to forgive the sins of penitent sinners, but to retain the sins of the impenitent as long as they do not repent.
Where is this written? Thus writes the holy Evangelist John, chapter twentieth: "The Lord Jesus breathed on His disciples and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained.
What do you believe according to these words? I believe that, when the called ministers of Christ deal with us by His divine command, especially when they exclude manifest and impenitent sinners from the Christian congregation, and, again, when they absolve those who repent of their sins and are willing to amend, this is as valid and certain, in heaven also, as if Christ, our dear Lord, dealt with us Himself.
The forgiveness granted in absolution is not received mechanically, but is conditioned on the repentance of the individual penitent:
289. Do hypocrites, that is, people who with their lips confess their sins, but are impenitent at heart, receive the forgiveness of sins? Hypocrites do not receive the forgiveness; for they do not accept the grace of God that is offered to them in the absolution.
The most curious part of this pastoral absolution, as I see it here, is that it is not mandatory:
292. Must a Christian privately confess his sins before the pastor? A Christian should not be forced to make a private confession before the pastor.
294. What benefit do we derive from making such private confession? When we confess our sins to our pastor and ask for forgiveness (absolution) of such sins as especially burden our conscience, we receive the comforting assurance that these sins are forgiven
The question that is not answered here is "What is my state, and the state of my sins, if I choose not to confess them to the pastor?" Evidently I will need to consult a more comprehensive Lutheran work if I am to discover the answer to that question.
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