why is it necessary to confess your sins to a man? why is it not considered the same to confess them yourself to your god?
2007-10-29 15:27:04 · 20 answers · asked by kathy 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
i suggest you go to confession and experience it. it's very different saying it aloud to another human.
2007-10-29 15:29:40 · answer #1 · answered by ProudM 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋
According to God's Word
Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. James 5:16
This has NOTHING to do with salvation. Another person cannot save you and offer you eternal life. Only a personal relationship with Christ can. I know from my own experience that the more people I share my sin (struggle with sin) with the more free I become. Two reasons. The sin loses it's power over you and you remove the secrecy that sin feeds on. Everyone has sin in their lives. I also believe that when we confess our sins to another we open the door for relationship with them. It can also provide the opportunity to get their sin out in the open because they see that they are not alone. It breaks down walls. This however must only be done with someone whom we trust and feel safe with. Someone who will not condemn us but will pray WITH us and for us. A TRUE FRIEND! Someone who will offer grace. Everyone wants to be loved warts and all. That's how Christ loves us. I know it has helped me. Hope this helps.
2007-10-29 22:49:16 · answer #2 · answered by pkgfinder 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
First of all, God gave the knowledge know things. It's better to confess your sin to the person you have sinned against first and then to God. If you confess to that person, he/ she will feel better in side and that will make you feel good in your heart.
2007-10-29 22:34:13 · answer #3 · answered by F (*_*) 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Well in that religion confession and repentance was approved by the elders while in Christianity people confess and repent just to god because it is believe in some "faiths" of Christianity u don't need to go through a elder to repent.
2007-10-29 22:30:44 · answer #4 · answered by TIQUE of AZ aka TCELL 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
i see no need in confessing to a man........do you realize how many times a day you sin? Do we have to confess every sin in order for God to forgive them? And if it is God forgiving them, why do we have to tell a man...tell God you know you are a sinner and Jesus paid the price for all of them,regardless of who you tell.
2007-10-29 22:35:43 · answer #5 · answered by nettek_trnr 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Confess to yourself as you are you and your God
2007-10-29 22:39:14 · answer #6 · answered by fatandsmooth 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Catholics don't confess their sins TO a man. We confess them to God THROUGH the ministry of a man appointed to that specific ministry by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who, after breathing upon them, symbolizing a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit, told the first priests of His Church, "whose sins YOU FORGIVE, they are forgiven them". Pretty straightforward! Jesus gave His priests the power to forgive mens' sins; but He didn't give them the power to read minds. Therefore the sins to be forgiven must be stated - in other words, confessed. I wonder what this direct act of God Himself means to Protestants, who apparently just ignore this powerful passage, along with many others.
2007-10-29 22:43:34 · answer #7 · answered by PaulCyp 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Romans 10:10
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
2007-10-29 22:34:53 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
i believe that the only person you need to confess your sins to is God. it is always good to talk to your friends about it so that they can keep you accountable but i dont know why people feel that they have to confess sins to a preist
2007-10-29 22:29:58 · answer #9 · answered by Ryan 2 · 2⤊ 2⤋
The act of submitting oneself to the sacrament of Penance is one of true humility. To stand before another (thank God it's in the dark and the priest cannot see your face) and reveal your sins and ask for the Lord's forgiveness is one that proves our true love for Him.
We are not confessing to a man. We are not even confessing to the priest. The priest is there in place of God. He is a prince of the earth and represents Christ. Christ is there listening to our sins and forgiving them through the priest. When Jesus said to the apostles, "I give you the power to forgive sins. What you shall release on earth shall be released in heaven." (Forgive me, this is a paraphrase, no Bible in front of me.) He was speaking of bestowing the power to forgive sins that He bestowed to priests of the Catholic Church. He was not speaking this in a large group, only to His apostles.
The feeling you get from being back in a state of grace after Penance is exhilarating! Thank You God for the gift of Penance!
2007-10-29 22:32:52 · answer #10 · answered by oremus_fratres 4 · 1⤊ 2⤋
There is a practical reason too, if you have to tell your sins to a person instead of straight to your god. Are you more or less likely to repeat them if you have to tell a person along with your god every time?
2007-10-29 22:33:43 · answer #11 · answered by asylum31 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋