To confess or not to confess our transgressions ??

[Qoheleth]

Simply put (for sake of discussion), why would we ever confess a wrong (sin) to another individual or for that matter to God himself if we are already forgiven?

I would like to know how all of you perceive and incorporate confessing of sins in your Christian walk in such ways as:

Do you confess to a priest or pastor--why or why not?
Do you confess to an injured party due to an action on your part?
Do you confess current sins to a fellow Christian bothers or sisters?

Have you ever confessed a sin to a congregation?

Are any of the above situations wrong, encouraged or forbidden by scripture?

I will make the assumption that we all know that God has forgiven are past, present, and future sins by the sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary. But if you do any of these things listed above, would you share the reasons why and use scriptural support as needed.

 

[eightfoot514]

Well, I'm not quite sure what you mean by "already forgiven." We confess our sins and ask for forgiveness in order to be forgiven, not the other way around. Only God forgives sins. Since Jesus is the Son of God, He said, "The Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins" and exercises this divine power: "Your sins are forgiven." Further, by virtue of his divine authority he gives this power to the Church to exercise in his name.

Christ has willed that in its prayer and life and action, His whole Church should be the sign and instrument of the forgiveness and reconciliation that He acquired for us at the price of His blood. But He entrusted the exercise of the power of absolution to the apostolic ministry which He charged with the "ministry of reconciliation." The apostle is sent out "on behalf of Christ" with "God making his appeal" through him and pleading: "Be reconciled to God."

2 Corinthians 5:18-20 - Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

Acts 19:17-18 - Fear fell upon all, both Jews and Greeks, and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified. Many also of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices.

James 5:16 - Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed.

John 20:19-23 – Jesus said to his disciples, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."

Matthew 3:6 – Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

Confession does not involve confessing sins to man instead of God. A person's sins are forgiven when they repent, but Confession restores back a person's relationship with God and His Church. Confession is the act of confessing sins to God in the presence of one of God's ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20), the priest.

2 Corinthians 2:10 – What I forgave, if I have forgiven anything, it was for your sakes in the person of Christ.

Jesus said to His Apostles, "If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." When the priest says, "Your sins are forgiven (Mark 2)," he is reassuring God's forgiveness in a verbal way, the same way Jesus assured people of forgiveness. (Luke 7:48 – Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven.") After the confession of sins, the priest tells the confessor to pray for forgiveness. This is called the Act of Contrition, and is usually similar to the following prayer: "My God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart. In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good, I have sinned against you whom I should love above all things. I firmly intend, with your help, to sin no more, and to avoid whatever leads me to sin. Our Savior Jesus Christ suffered and died for us. In his name, my God, have mercy."

We need confession so we can unburden ourselves, so we can get the poison of sin out of ourselves. It helps us to examine our daily lives regularly and to make specific resolutions to avoid near occasions of sin as well as to keep from sin itself. Contrary to what many people believe, Confession is not a means of "checking in" so a person can go right back in the world with the intention of sinning. Confession involves resolve to not sin again, with Christ's help. The priest is bound to never discuss anything that is confessed with anyone, not even to another priest.

Eric

 

[Momzilla]

Orthodox do not confess to anyone but Jesus, but we do confess in the presence of a priest. Confession has a number of benefits that I can think of (I am still a catachumen and I have not yet studied confession or made my first confession). In my own experience, saying something in the presence of someone else is a whole different ball game than saying it to myself (even if I'm "saying" it to God in a prayer). Having to articulate something aloud makes it more concrete, somehow.

Also, the presence of a priest is helpful to guide a confession and to provide advice. Confession is a means of healing, in my mind, and a priest can (and should) help you be honest with yourself and with God as you confess, point out how you might need to behave in the future, etc.

In looking toward my first confession sometime in the future, I know there are sins I will have to talk about, and I know God has already forgiven me for those sins. And yet, I also know that confessing those sins "publicly", in the presence of a priest and Jesus (while standing before an icon of Him), will be a deeply moving and healing experience. It will be a sacrament--a means of receiving God's grace.

I was talking to a friend at church a while back, and he told me that during all his years in a protestant denomination, nothing ever helped him with his alcoholism. It wasn't until he started confessing regularly that he was able, with God's help, overcome the problem. Again, confession is healing and life-giving.

These are just my thoughts, but I hope they are helpful to you.

Kirsten, a lowly sinner

 

[MadeInOz]

I don't confess to a pastor or priest, but I do have an accountability partner who I kind of have a similar relationship with, but yeah, it's a little different. I wrote a little thing in my diary last night that said if no one else knows about your sins, then no one else can help celebrate your victory over them.

I guess I hadn't really considered doing a confessing thing up until recently, but I guess it makes it feel a little more real I guess than talking to God. I know that I don't 'have' to confess to other people, but ... it helps.

 

[Qoheleth]

Momzilla

Does the Orthodox church believe that one must first confess the sin before they are forgiven or do they believe that the sin is forgiven yet the confession is spiritually efficacious?

 

[eightfoot514]

I'm assuming that the Orthodox and Catholics hold the same views on Confession (actually I think the proper term is Reconciliation). When we repent, we are forgiven. But, sin damages our relationship with both God and His Church, so in order for that relationship to be fully restored, we must confess our sins. Only then may we approach the Table of the Lord and receive Him in the Eucharist.

(If that isn't correct for the Orthodox Church, please correct me. )
Eric

 

[katherine2001]

I'm not Momzilla, but I am Orthodox. Only a priest or bishop can absolve your sins. In John 20:19-23, Jesus appeared to the disciples/apostles after His resurrection and before His ascension and said to them:

19. Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you."

20. When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

21. So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you."

22. And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit."

23. "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

Yes, it is Christ Himself whom you confess to and who forgives you, but He uses His priests to give us the forgiveness and absolution. In the Russian tradition, when you come in for confession before you start confessing your sins, the priest says:

"Behold, my child, Christ stands here invisibly and receives your confession; therefore, do not be ashamed or afraid, and hide nothing from me; but tell without hesitation all the things that you have done, and so you will have pardon from our Lord Jesus Christ. See, hs holy image is before us [note: Orthodox confession has the priest standing beside you while you are both facing an icon of Christ]; and I am only a witness, hearing testimony before him of all the things you have to say to me. But if you hide anything from me, you will have greater sin. Take care, then, lest having come to the physician you depart unhealed."

James told us to confess our sins one to another. Christ specifically gave the apostles the authority to abolve or not absolve sins. That could not be done without people having to actually confess their sins to them. How could they decide whether to absolve the sins or not without actually hearing them? In the Orthodox Church (and I imagine the RC Church too), sometimes a priest has to deny you Communion for a little while and/or prescribe other treatments to help you realize that what you are doing is wrong and help bring you to repentence. Part of repentence is admitting what you did. Also, we usually can't overcome sin, especially if it's well entrenched in us, by ourselves. It's much harder to admit it to another human being than to God alone--we can't really see Him. But the priest loves you in spite of your sin and counsels you and prescribes treatments to help you to overcome your sin areas. I think the Church were the original believers in the idea that "you are only as sick as your secrets".

 

[artofwar]

I only Confess to Jesus himself but it is good for other people to know what your going through, especially if it involves them then it might be good to confess to them as well

 

[Captain_Scott]

well the bible does tell us to confess our sins to one another...but i think thats more of a support type deal. Confessing to a priest is an entirly diffrent matter.....the preist has no biblical authority to absolve sins (speaking in NT church terms)...so its only by tradition that one does it.

 

[Qoheleth]

So, would anyone else like to comment on John 20:19-23 as it applies to priests having been given the authority to absolve sin through confession?

Are these verses (John 20:19-23) directly applied to the Apostles only or are they inclusive of all believers?



1 John 1:9 -- "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness"

Does this verse mean to say that we must ask for forgiveness before we will be forgiven and cleansed? What exactly is cleansed?

Has not Jesus gained for us the forgiveness and cleansing from sin by his death and resurrection?

What I am trying to establish is this; If we do not confess our sins (or we miss a few), will we not be forgiven them and therefore find ourselves falling away from grace and possibly losing our salvation?

Are not our past, present, and future sins forgiven when we accepted Jesus as our Lord and saviour?

As far as the who or when we confess our sins to, Im seeking to bring forth scriptural evidence that supports any of the situations listed in my OP:

Do you confess to a priest or pastor--why or why not?
Do you confess to an injured party due to an action on your part?
Do you confess current sins to a fellow Christian bothers or sisters?

Have you ever confessed a sin to a congregation?

 

[eightfoot514]

Are not our past, present, and future sins forgiven when we accepted Jesus as our Lord and saviour?

Matthew 7:21 – Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

In 1 Corinthians 11:29, Paul speaks of people eating and drinking damnation on themselves for not discerning the Lord's body in Communion. How can we bring damnation upon ourselves if we are saved forever, no matter what?

Well, salvation is not a one-time conversion event. It is a process that continues throughout a person's entire life. That is why Scripture warns us that we must remain in our faith all the way to our deaths. Yes, you must "work out your salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12)."

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 – Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

If we repent and then fall back into serious sin, we must repent again in order to be reconciled to God, "for this you can be sure: no immoral, impure or greedy person--such a man is an idolater--has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God (Ephesians 5:5)."

Eric

 

[SPALATIN]

So, would anyone else like to comment on John 20:19-23 as it applies to priests having been given the authority to absolve sin through confession?

Are these verses (John 20:19-23) directly applied to the Apostles only or are they inclusive of all believers?

He gave them to the Apostles or those he has called to forgive others of their sins. I believe that if he had meant it for all believers he would have spoken these words to a more indistinct crowd. However, he does call us to go to our Brothers and sisters with whom we have a dispute and make it right before coming to the altar.

1 John 1:9 -- "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness"

Does this verse mean to say that we must ask for forgiveness before we will be forgiven and cleansed? What exactly is cleansed?

Has not Jesus gained for us the forgiveness and cleansing from sin by his death and resurrection?

We have been forgiven for orginal sins and those we have already confessed, but we still need to confess that we are sinful people and fall short of God's glory on a regular basis. That we are still sinful despite our best intentions to do what the Holy Spirit guides us to do. This is humility before the Lord. To constantly recognize that we can't get to heaven on our own merit.

In making a confession we cleanse our conscience and soul from our sinful human flesh.

What I am trying to establish is this; If we do not confess our sins (or we miss a few), will we not be forgiven them and therefore find ourselves falling away from grace and possibly losing our salvation?

Are not our past, present, and future sins forgiven when we accepted Jesus as our Lord and saviour?

Accept??? Show me where he says we "accept" him to gain salvation. The Holy Spirit guides us to repentence and upon confession of him we are accepted by him; not he by us.

As far as the who or when we confess our sins to, Im seeking to bring forth scriptural evidence that supports any of the situations listed in my OP:

Do you confess to a priest or pastor--why or why not?
Do you confess to an injured party due to an action on your part?
Do you confess current sins to a fellow Christian bothers or sisters?

Have you ever confessed a sin to a congregation?

Since I am not Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox I don't go to a priest to confess alone unless I feel the need to seek counseling as well. I do confess each week along with my other sinful compadres and commadres that I have sinned against thee by thought word and deed. I confess that I have committed sins with which I know about and sins which he knows about but have not been brought to my attention as yet.

After the confession I hear the Pastor say. Upon this your confession, I as a called and ordained servant of the word announce the grace of God to you, and in his stead and by his command I forgive you your sins. I know that by his saying that that it isn't himself pronouncing forgiveness, but God.

This is the Lutheran version of the Office of the Keys.

 

[Qoheleth]

He gave them to the Apostles or those he has called to forgive others of their sins.[/QUOTE]

Who are "those" that you speak of other than the Apostles??

We have been forgiven for orginal sins

Whose "original sins"

In making a confession we cleanse our conscience and soul from our sinful human flesh.

I understand the "conscience", what do you mean by the "soul" and how is this done through confession?

Accept??? Show me where he says we "accept" him to gain salvation.

If faith comes by "hearing and hearing the word", the Holy Spirit drew me to the "Truth" and enabled me to "accept" its message but, I will concede to the expression "receive" also. I do not want this to become an off-topic in this thread though. Thanks

 

[Qoheleth]

In 1 Corinthians 11:29, Paul speaks of people eating and drinking damnation on themselves for not discerning the Lord's body in Communion. How can we bring damnation upon ourselves if we are saved forever, no matter what?

I am not putting forth the "once saved always saved" issue here nor do I want this thread to become that issue either.

I am asking why and how (and to whom) one confesses sin if it is true all our sins have been forgiven in all times?

If we repent and then fall back into serious sin, we must repent again in order to be reconciled to God

Well, all sin is separation from the will of God. Does scripture show us that some sins are more damaging or "serious" than others in that they pull us further away from God from HIS perspective not ours?


By the way, how do I quote someone and show who the quote is from? Thanks.


So that my position is clear, I believe that admitting, acknowledging (yes by definition-Confess) a wrong to one that I have injured or sinned against, is not the same as coming before the Almighty God and presenting (Confessing) our sins to him.

But, is there any reason, by your interpretations, that we might confess our sins to another believer when the sin is not against them. Why or why not, and does scripture speak against this at all?

 

[SPALATIN]

He gave them to the Apostles or those he has called to forgive others of their sins.[/QUOTE]

Who are "those" that you speak of other than the Apostles??

Those who are called to Preach the word of God and forgive sins. Office of the Pastorate.

Whose "original sins"

When we are born into original sin. It is our inheritance from Adam.

I understand the "conscience", what do you mean by the "soul" and how is this done through confession?

I kind of lumped the two together. My mistake.

If faith comes by "hearing and hearing the word", the Holy Spirit drew me to the "Truth" and enabled me to "accept" its message but, I will concede to the expression "receive" also. I do not want this to become an off-topic in this thread though. Thanks

When you use the word "accept" you are implying that you had anything to do with your salvation. I don't think you believe that you do, but using the word "accept in this way it is saying God did his part now I must "accept" what he did in order to be saved. that is not scriptural. We are not "enabled" to do anything. We passively receive his gift of salvation and redemption by his death on the cross. When a gift is given to you the only thing that you have in your power is to reject the gift. If you don't reject it the gift is yours to keep.

 

[Qoheleth]

We passively receive his gift of salvation and redemption by his death on the cross. When a gift is given to you the only thing that you have in your power is to reject the gift. If you don't reject it the gift is yours to keep.

How do we "passively receive", how is this done? In your not "rejecting" of the gift, are you not then "accepting" the gift.

In other words, If I am not actively rejecting, which is within my power as you say, am I not with volition, actively accepting? If not please explain.

 

[Qoheleth]

Those who are called to Preach the word of God and forgive sins. Office of the Pastorate.

Are we not all called to preach the Gospel? Can I not forgive your wrong that you did to me? I can not forgive the sin spiritually as it applies to salvation yet I can forgive it as it applies to this temporal life.


By the way, how do I quote someone and identify who it is by in the quote. Thanks

 

[SPALATIN]

Are we not all called to preach the Gospel? Can I not forgive your wrong that you did to me? I can not forgive the sin spiritually as it applies to salvation yet I can forgive it as it applies to this temporal life.


By the way, how do I quote someone and identify who it is by in the quote. Thanks

I am not saying here that we can't share the Gospel with others, but there are those who are called to be Shepherds of the flock and that is their main job to Preach the Gospel.

As for forgiveness, we must ask both the person to whom we have offended and God for forgiveness of sins. If the offense is not to anyone in particular then we need to confess that we are sinners to God alone. This is the part that says we must examine ourselves in a worthy manner before partaking in the sacrament.

The last question is how to quote someone. If you go to the post that you want to answer specifically you will see two buttons on the bottom right hand of the post. One says "report" and the other says "Quote" if you click on the Quote button it will come with a reply screen and the Opening quote will have "

"

 

[Qoheleth]

SLStrohkirch[/font]]The last question is how to quote someone. If you go to the post that you want to answer specifically you will see two buttons on the bottom right hand of the post. One says "report" and the other says "Quote" if you click on the Quote button it will come with a reply screen and the Opening quote will have "

"

Imust be doing something wrong here as you can see

 

[Reformationist]

Simply put (for sake of discussion), why would we ever confess a wrong (sin) to another individual or for that matter to God himself if we are already forgiven?

Simply put, because we were commanded to:

James 5:16
Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.

Do you confess to a priest or pastor--why or why not?

I have confessed to my Pastor during counseling sessions with him, mostly because he has the training to instruct me in the Word which helps me deal with my sins in a godly way.

Do you confess to an injured party due to an action on your part?

I try to. Confessing guilt of a transgression often goes a long way in restoring that relationship because it shows the injured party that you understand that your actions are wrong and that they have harmed someone.

Do you confess current sins to a fellow Christian bothers or sisters?

Sure, if they are wise in the Word and can hear my confession without stumbling.

Have you ever confessed a sin to a congregation?

No. The only sins that should be confessed to the congregation are those that are committed by someone who is unrepentant of public sin, i.e., living a lifestyle of sinfulness.

I will make the assumption that we all know that God has forgiven are past, present, and future sins by the sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary. But if you do any of these things listed above, would you share the reasons why and use scriptural support as needed.

Simply, we don't confess and repent of our sins to be forgiven. We confess and repent because we are forgiven. Those who believe that they can embrace Jesus as Savior but reject Him as Lord are deluded. Confession, which should lead to repentence, is a vital part of the church's health.

God bless