Beliefs · Church word
Forgiveness
In plain words
God letting go of what we did wrong, for Jesus’ sake. Given as a gift, not earned.
The fuller definition
God’s letting go of what we owe for what we have done wrong, for Christ’s sake. Lutherans teach that forgiveness is given, not earned, and that it is actually handed over in the spoken word of absolution, in baptism and in communion, not left as a feeling to hope for.
Where it comes from
1 John 1:9; Small Catechism, Confession
In Beliefs: What Lutherans teach, and where it differs from other churches.