What is the mission of the Church? The Mission of the Church is to forgive sins. Jesus says, "as the Father has sent Me, even so I am sending you." And when he ahd said this, he breathed on them , and saith unto them, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose so ever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose so ever sin ye retain, they are retained." John 20:21b-22. The tools the Church uses to carry out Christ's mission of forgiving sins for His sake are Christ's Word and the Sacraments (Holy Baptism and the Lord's Supper). Through the preaching of the Gospel the Church forgives people's sins before God (John 20:23, Romans 10:17). Likewise because the forgiveness of sin is found in Holy Baptism (Acts 2:39) and the Lord's Supper(Luke 22:19-20), the Church also uses Christ's Sacraments to forgive sins. Through Christ's Word and the Sacraments sins are forgiven and through this forgiveness saving faith (Ephesians 2:8-9)is created and sustained in the heart (Romans 10:17)by God unto the life everlasting. This Work of forgiving sins in Christ's Word and Sacraments is called the Office of the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 16:19). This Work is eternally practical and beneficial: Because sin is what locks heaven and eternal life to men, the remission of sins for Christ's Sake unlocks and opens heaven and eternal life to men. Thus by the Administration of the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, sinners through faith in Christ the Savior enter Heaven. Jesus says, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation;but is passed from death into life."(John 5:24). |
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