Who Should We Confess Our sins To?

Question

1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

-Amen- It is Jesus! He is the one who forgives us our sins and saves us from the wrath of God-- as Romans 5:8-9 says "But God demonstrates His own love towards us in that while we were sinners Christ died for us"
Do you believe this?

Answer 1

Yes... only one could mediate between us and God and that person has to be perfect in order to moderate so Christ is the only moderator.

Answer 2

Acts 2:38: "Peter replied, 'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'"

Saint Anselm of Canterbury wrote a book called "Cur Deus Homo" - why God became man. Adam's sin was an eternal offense, unpayable by a mere man. Christ had to be God to repay the eternal offense, and as powerful as the one offended. Only God could repay the debt impossible to repay by humans. But Christ had to be man as well, because it was an offense caused by man. Before Christ, man's sins were forgiven by the sacrifices in the tabernacle/temple. Something pure, without blemish, was chosen to take upon the people's sins. But it could never be good enough to eternally forgive sin. Enter Christ. There was now no longer a need for the other mediators between God and man, because Jesus filled the gap (your verse). The curtain in the temple was ripped in two. Because of Christ, and through Him, we can confess our sins.

Answer 3

Jesus

Answer 4

This is an interesting one...
My first thought was 'confess your sins one to another'----James 5v16
did a quick study of Father K's suggested scripture and John ch 20; v21-23 - says exactly what Father K has said--Jesus breathed on them to receive The Holy Spirit and being led and directed by Him "if you forgive the sins of anyone they are forgiven" ---
thanks for posting this - it's good to read things again - there's so much I've forgotten and so much to learn...
Love & Blessings : x )

Answer 5

Catholics confess their sins to God at every mass:

"I confess to Almighty God, and to you my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned through my own fault. In my thoughts, and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do. And I ask blessed Virgin Mary, all the angels and saints, and you my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God."

If we are aware of mortal sin, Catholics must go say a Sacramental Confession to a Priest, before we can receive communion. Paul instructs us that if anyone receives the Body and Blood of Christ unworthily, he brings condemnation upon himself.

Catholics believe, and Scripture confirms, that Jesus gave the authority to forgive sins to the Apostles and their successors, which includes todays Bishops and those whom they ordain as priests. When we confess to a priest, it is not a man who hears the confession, but it is Jesus Himself who hears and absolves us of our sin.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation has the added benefit of receiving spiritual counseling from a trained minister of God, and being healed of sin that we would not have been aware of without the help of a priest.

Which is easier? To keep things private and hope for forgiveness, or confess your sins in a real encounter with Christ?

Answer 6

I'm not religious but if I were I would definatly not be a catholic.I always wondered why priests thought they were some kind of mediator in the first place and I always wondered why the pope thinks he is the next thing to godliness.

Answer 7

We confess our sins to God with the priest as a witness. I think that oral confession is best. It is easy to think things and get distracted. When you confess openly you are taking responsibility for your actions. This is an incredibly difficult thing to do.

Answer 8

Father K did well in siting Scripture. But let's be honest. We always can approach God in perfect contrition in theory, but God knows that we are humans and need that "personal touch". God has always worked through His creation throughout history, he continues this trend in the New Testament Era.

Answer 9

The concept of confession of sin to a priest is nowhere taught in Scripture. First, the New Testament does not teach that there are to be priests in the New Covenant. Instead, the New Testament teaches that all believers are priests. 1 Peter 2:5-9 describes believers as a “holy priesthood” and a “royal priesthood.” Revelation 1:6 and 5:10 both describe believers as “a kingdom and priests.” In the Old Covenant, the faithful had to approach God through the priests. The priests were mediators between the people and God. The priests offered sacrifices to God on behalf of the people. That is no longer necessary. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we can now approach God’s throne with boldness (Hebrews 4:16). The temple veil tearing in two at Jesus’ death was symbolic of the dividing wall between God and humanity being destroyed. We can approach God directly, ourselves, without the use of a human mediator. Why? Because Jesus Christ is our great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-15; 10:21), and the only mediator between us and God (1 Timothy 2:15). The New Testament teaches that there are to be elders (1 Timothy 3), deacons (1 Timothy 3), bishops (Titus 1:6-9), and pastors (Ephesians 4:11) – but not priests.

When it comes to confession of sin, believers are told in 1 John 1:9 to confess their sins to God. God is faithful and just to forgive our sins as we confess them to Him. James 5:16 speaks of confessing our trespasses “to one another,” but this is not the same as confessing sins to a priest as the Roman Catholic Church teaches. Priests / church leaders are nowhere mentioned in the context of James 5:16. Further, James 5:16 does not link forgiveness of sins with the confession of sins “to one another.”

The Roman Catholic Church bases their practice of confession to a priest primarily on Catholic tradition. Catholic do point to John 20:23, “If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." From this verse, Catholics claim that God gave the apostles the authority to forgive sins, and that authority was passed on to the successors of the apostles, e.g. the bishops and priests of the Roman Catholic Church. There are several problems with this interpretation. (1) John 20:23 nowhere mentions confession of sin. (2) John 20:23 nowhere promises, or even hints, that the authority to forgive sins would be passed on to the successors of the apostles. Jesus’ promise was specifically directed to the apostles. (3) The New Testament nowhere states that the apostles would even have successors to their apostolic authority. Similarly, Catholics point to Matthew 16:19 and 18:18 (binding and loosing) as evidence for the Catholic Church’s authority to forgive sins. The same three above points apply equally to these Scriptures.

Again, the concept of confession of sin to a priest is nowhere taught in Scripture. We are to confess our sins to God (1 John 1:9). As New Covenant believers, we do not need mediators between us and God. We can go to God directly because of Jesus’ sacrifice for us. 1 Timothy 2:5, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”

Recommended Resource: The Gospel According to Rome: Comparing confession sin priest and The Word of God by James McCarthy.

Answer 10

CONFESSION.... to... GOD.... is... ONLY... FOR.... His Children!

MANY... have religion and simply TELL THEIR SINS.. to another... and ... FALSELY BELIEVE... that they are Absolved!

(Matthew 9:6) But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.

ONLY... JESUS.... not some Person... can Forgive SIN!

JESUS... is the ONLY Mediator...!

(1Timothy 2:5) For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

AS FAR AS FORGIVNESS.... Only... FOR... the Real Child of GOD....

(1John 1:5-to-10) This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

(1Jo 1:6) If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

(1Jo 1:7) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

(1Jo 1:8) If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

(1Jo 1:9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

(1Jo 1:10) If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Thanks, RR