The Sunday of Confession (NTA)

1 Thessalonians 2:9-16

⁹ For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. ¹⁰ You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. ¹¹ For you know how, like a father with his children, ¹² we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

¹³ And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. ¹⁴ For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, ¹⁵ who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind ¹⁶ by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last!

St Paul thanks God for all of those who have been brought to the pure and true confession of Faith. It is a worthy thing to praise church bodies and people who confess the Word of God. They confess the Word of God not just as believers in Jesus Christ, and not just as a book written by men for our instruction. But these people have accepted the truth, this word does not come from a man or men but from God. St Paul will likewise claim his Apostleship does not come from a man but from God.

It is often easy for us to follow St Paul's example and tell others to behave like we do. I know that I have lived a perfect and noble life. I have kept my nose clean, and have not committed any grieves crime. I most definitely have worked to help protect others from harm when possible. But when you cause the tree to fall and then lift the child out of the way is that a noble thing, or a good work? It is very easy to become self righteous.

We all must listen to all of St Paul's words to realize he is not being self righteous. He is meerly setting forth an example for people to try to follow. Jesus gives us a perfect example, but Jesus has a few gifts of insight in situations that we do not always receive. There are definitely times when we can be a little blunt or obtuse with someone, while other times this will only harm our neighbor.

Jesus did not hide from the truth but proclaimed it boldly. He proclaimed the truth to all people, and called people to confess their faith in him and in the Sacrificial plan God has in store for all people. As you think of the Augsburg Confession, you should recognize the strong stance in which people had to take to make said confession. May we see the Word of God, as the true Word, and know the forgiveness it continues to proclaim to all nations.