Fellow Christians: Why do you or don't you believe in CONFESSION?

Question

Those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, "Who is this man who even forgives sins?" Luke 7:49

We know that God the father, gives Jesus the authority to forgive sins. In the same way Jesus gives authority to his priests to forgive sins.

So Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you."....If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained." John 20:21,23

Even if you aren't Catholic, can you see why confession to a priest is Biblical?

Answer 1

+ Confession +

Orally confessing sins is recemmended in the Bible:

James 5:16 - Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful.

Acts 19:18 - Many of those who had become believers came forward and openly acknowledged their former practices.

Matthew 3:5-6 - At that time Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him (John the Baptist) and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins.

Mark 1:5 - People of the whole Judean countryside and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were going out to him (John the Baptist) and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins.

1 Timothy 6:12 - Compete well for the faith. Lay hold of eternal life, to which you were called when you made the noble confession in the presence of many witnesses.

1 John 1:9 - If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing.

Numbers 5:6-7 - "Tell the Israelites: If a man (or a woman) commits a fault against his fellow man and wrongs him, thus breaking faith with the LORD, he shall confess the wrong he has done, restore his ill-gotten goods in full, and in addition give one fifth of their value to the one he has wronged."

Nehemiah 9:2 - Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all who were of foreign extraction, then stood forward and confessed their sins and the guilty deeds of their fathers.

Sirach 4:26 - Be not ashamed to acknowledge your guilt, but of your ignorance rather be ashamed.

+ Rconciliation +

The Catholic Church believes that "Only God forgives sin."

When a penitent person asks God for forgiveness, his (or her) sins are immediately forgiven.

Catholics also believe that when someone sins they not only hurt their relationship with God, they also injure the entire church, the body of Christ.

Jesus said, "I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:19)

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,"Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." (Luke 20:22-23)

The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation with a priest ordained in the name of Jesus Christ not only reconciles the sinner to God but with the entire church, including you and me.

+ With love in Christ.

Answer 2

All believers are priests. To go into a confessional, that typically has a rose engraved in oak above the entrance to it, by the way, is to practice witchcraft. The practice of putting something under the rose is a way of hiding it. It's not canceled out because it's not done in accordance with the will of God. Catholicism is against God because it's witchcraft and God doesn't see the ritual of confessing to a priest in a confessional, and the repetition of rote prayer after that as the way to take care of the sin in your life. God can hear his children. His ears are open to the cry of a contrite and humble heart.

Answer 3

James 5:sixteen isn't a commandment, it rather is a recomendation (and an outstanding one too). a million John a million:9 is speaking approximately agreeing with God that your sins are vile and disgusting outloud with your mouth. To have self assurance that confession to a various specific individual could make you any further cleansed from those sins is unbiblical and propostorous. you're giving guy the interest that purely God can do, and did gain this completely.

Answer 4

I don't believe in confession. I think that you confess to God and ask him for forgiveness. No man on earth has the authority to grant forgiveness. The bible says that "we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God." Men of the cloth are no different. Yes, they may be chosen to lead they are not on a higher level.

Answer 5

Forgiving sins. There is only one person can forgive you your sin. You can confess your sins to a Priest all day and it wont mean ****** **8*8 The only way you can have your sin forgiven where it counts is to be forgive by the person you sinned against. Oh but that makes it too hard for you Christians don't it. you want to be able to just say a little prayer or run to the priest and be forgiven. Well you go ahead with your God thing. I'm An Atheists I'll just ask for forgiveness from the one I transgressed against.

Answer 6

Nope, I don't. I'm a die-hard Baptist and always will be one. The position of a priest is crazy, because even the priests are sinful and cannot give you a pardon from God. Only you can confess your sins to God and then they will be pardoned.
"Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.  And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God." Romans 8: 26-27 (KJV).

Answer 7

I can see why people would think it's biblical. I wasn't raised that way though. I was raised that we have a direct link to God through Jesus and so we can go directly to God without a priest.

Answer 8

Jesus never gave "priests" the authority to forgive sins! Deceptive and satanic how you slipped that in there with no evidence.

The Babylonians used to have confession so their "priests" could know what everyone was doing. That's where your 'church' gets it from. It's not in the Bible.

Answer 9

I'm not too familiar with how exactly Catholic confessionals happen, but I do believe in confessing some sins to church leaders that can forgive "in the name of the church" and help me through the repentance process to get forgiveness from God too.

Answer 10

No, because the New Testament does not have "priests" as such. Priests have to be Levites according to Moses, and no priest that I know happens to be Jewish.

Actually, Protestants confess our sins to "one another" as James commanded (James 5:16)