”The best and most ancient writers” agree

Welcome to today's episode of "In All Our Doings," brought to you by Anglican Futures. We delve into the theme of faith, repentance, and grace, starting with a heartfelt confession of sins, reflecting on the timeless truth of justification by faith as shared by the revered Church Fathers.

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TRANSCRIPT

Hello and Welcome to “In All Our Doings”

Simply confession, Cranmer, a creed and collects. brought to you daily by Anglican Futures. 

Thank you for joining us and we hope these timeless truths will strengthen you for whatever you face in the coming day.

And so we begin with Confession

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbours as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.

Hear the Word of God to all who truly turn to him.

If anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Cranmer’s third homily points us to the Church Fathers

These and other like sentences, that we be justified by faith only, freely and without works, we read often in most best and ancient writers.  As besides Hilary, Basil and Saint Ambrose before rehearsed, we read the same in Origen and Saint Chrysostom, Saint Cyprian, Saint Augustine, Prosper, Oecumenius, Photius, Bernardus, Anselm and many other authors, Greek and Latin. Nevertheless, this sentence that we be justified by faith only is not so meant of them, that justifying faith is alone in man, without true repentance, hope, charity, dread and fear of God at any time or season. Nor when they say that we be justified freely, do they mean that we should, or might afterwards, be idle, and that nothing should be required on our part afterwards.

So our bible reading today comes from 1 Thessalonians chapter 1, starting at verse 3

We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly[a] mentioning you in our prayers, 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labour of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, brothers[b] loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.

This is the word of the Lord

The Apostles Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen

Let us pray

Our Father in Heaven

Hallowed be your name

Your kingdom come

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven

Give us today our daily bread

And forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us

Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from the evil one

For the kingdom the power and the glory are yours now and forever Amen

 

Collect for today

Almighty Father, who gave your only Son to die for our sins and to rise for our justification: Give us grace so to put away the leaven of malice and wickedness, that we may always serve you in purity of life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen

Go before us, O Lord, in all our doings with your most gracious favour, and further us with your continual help; that in all our works begun, continued, and ended in you, we may glorify your holy Name, and finally, through your mercy, obtain everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Final Words

Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to him from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen

 

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Bible readings are taken from the English Standard Version with permission from Crossway.  The liturgy comes from the ACNA Book of Common Prayer 2019.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language