Saint Patrick
"Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.” Isaiah 1:18
Patrick’s theology was not Lutheran, but it seems that it wasn’t Catholic either, at least not in his latter years. As he was preaching in Ireland, the Catholic church in Britain had ill will toward Patrick’s work in Ireland. They even tried to frame him in a desperate attempt to stop his work in Ireland. In the Roman church, confession to a priest was a must in their religious life. Patrick, in his youth, confessed a particularly great sin, the nature of which we do not know. The priest to whom Patrick confessed shared this sin with the church to try and stop his work in Ireland.
Though Patrick was betrayed, the LORD knew the truth. He took Patrick’s sin away through the work of Christ Jesus, and He redeemed him as His own special member of His kingdom. Patrick continued to be zealous for the kingdom of God and its spread throughout the world.
As Patrick was betrayed by gossip and slander, so we too may have this happen to us. A sin may be behind us, forgotten as the LORD has forgotten it, but your neighbor and their sinful flesh may try to bring it up again to bring you down. If this happens, know that the LORD shares the truth with you. Though that sin be brought up again, it doesn’t define you, for you’ve been forgiven. When Jesus said, “It is finished,” He meant it. Your sin has been removed forever. God has freed you of that guilt. He has freed you to serve Him in righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.
Just as I am, without one plea but that Thy blood was shed for me
And that Thou bidd’st me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come, I come
The Lutheran Hymnal 388:1