When you confess your sins...?

Question

Im not a christian but would like to know do u have to confess all your sins or is there like some sorta rule, like maybe only the big ones, because from what i here alot of things are sins and if i were to become christian now id have alot of confessing to do...Thx i hope some one can fill me in on how this works

Answer 1

It kind of starts when you are ready.
It's impossible to go back and remember everything you did.

Baptism is the cleansing ceremony for your sin from the past.
If you were to decide to become a Christian, you would get baptised in water. Basically this is like a marriage ceremony. It's symbolism dates way back, as it represents the purifying of all your sins from the past, and you start new.

This doesn't mean you won't sin again, it just means you are forgiven, and you believe what Christ did when he sacrificed himself by death. He, in effect, took the punishment for all our wrongdoings.

I have my husband/friend who I talk to about the things I'm not proud of doing. He helps to keep me accountable so I don't keep doing what I do (and at the same time) don't want to do. Accountability (and encouragement) is the purpose of confession of sin.

Hope I answered your question :)

Answer 2

I confessed all of the sins that I could remember, then I asked forgiveness for the ones that I could not remember. And over the years I have been reminded of a few. I don't know if there is a difference in big sin or others. I think that they all need to be confessed and then repented of. You can not do this on your own, you must accept Jesus' free gift of salvation, ask Him into your heart and rely on the Holy Spirit's help to make you aware of sin and the need to confess and repent. With time this will become almost instant. I know in my walk with the Lord that at the second I sin I am convicted of it by the Holy Spirit and confess and ask forgiveness. This happens daily and will to everyone as long as we are here on this earth and in these fleshly bodies. So don't wait and try to "clean" yourself up you can not do it on your own. Confess your sins and your need for Jesus, ask Him into your life and let your wonderful Christian experience begin. It's not all sunshine and lollipops you will have your trials and problems, but you will never face them alone. God Bless You

Answer 3

The whole point of confession is: 1) to personally recognize the things you do that act to separate you from God 2) apologize to God for doing them 3) take the necessary steps to stop doing them, and 4) subsequently receive forgiveness from God.

Absent successfully and completely accomplishing 1 thru 3 above, the only other way one can receive complete forgiveness from God is through worthy reception of the Catholic sacrament of reconciliation, which is powerful enough to make up for most personal deficiencies in the completeness or sincerity of one's confession, and which typically requires only a firm purpose of amendment, rather than complete and total repentence.

In this, Catholics get a much better deal, because they have the immediate assurance that their sins have been absolutely forgiven, while everyone else won't know for sure whether God has truly accepted their apology, until Judgment Day.

Catholics routinely receive forgiveness for minor sins through their participation in various Catholic devotions and worship services, so only serious sins need to be dealt with in confession.

You'll find that Catholics have always considered confronting the reality and consequences of sin to be critically important, so the church has taken great pains to deal with the problem effectively, practically, and completely ... much more so than do any of the Christian denominations.

The resulting peace of mind and serenity of spirit is one of the greatest benefits of the Catholic faith ... and such things are most comforting when death may be near ... whether that death may be your own ... or that of a loved one.

Answer 4

I do not think you will be able to understand the confession of sins. Because you are not a Christian you can not completely understand, if you do at all, what happens between a man and his God. The Christian is meant to build a thriving, alive relationship with the Father. Incredibly similar to that between a man and a wife. The Bible teaches in Ephesians that Christ is the head of the Church like the man is the head of the wife; he also continues by saying that Christ demonstrates his love toward his "wife" the same way a husband is supposed to do it on earth. So then when we go to our "husband" in heaven with sin in our lives it just a wife going to her husband and telling him that she made a mistake somewhere. She goes to him humbly and softly. Not proud or boasting anything. She kindly confesses the area she made a mistake in (whatever it may be) and the husband forgives her. Also the Bible calles Him our Father. Painting the picture of a son or daughter coming to their father when they are in trouble. Maybe they did not take the trash or clean their room. Whatever it may be they comet to him delicately and appropriately. Something I cannot expect you to understand because you do not know my Father. It is not about listing every sin or crime against His law...it is about maintaning a relationship. Making sure that the communication is open both ways to him and to me it key. If sin is in my life then when I pray He cannot answer me the way He wants to. It is a relationship. Please ask Christ to save you from your sin so you can understand.

Answer 5

My understanding of confessing our sins, is so we can realize what God already knows. Since He knows every hair on our head, He also knows what sins we have committed. These sins will be recorded in the books, which are brought before us on our personal judgment. Now, if we confess our sins, and ask God through Jesus Christ, our sacrificial Lamb who's blood was shed for our sins (just as in the old testament the blood of sacrificed animals was shed) those sins are wiped away from the books and are never remembered in heaven again.

Yes we should remember and ask for forgiveness for the major sins, and for the ones we think are so minor we can't remember, than we ask Jesus to forgive us of ALL our sins and to make us pure once again.

Part of the confessing is so that we understand we did wrong, that we chose to do wrong, and through realizing we did wrong, that we honestly try to change and not do those sins again. It is tough and we can never be sin free. But we have to at least try, and we at least should daily ask for forgiveness. Because when we die, and there is volumes of sin under our name, the alternative is eternal death.
Try it, you don't have to be Christian to ask for forgiveness, but you might change in you heart and gain in site to Christianity.

Answer 6

Oh yeah. You have to confess everything. Everything is a sin, even if you haven't done anything, just because you were automatically BORN a sinner. A little rediculous. And there are rules, you have to say "Bless me father for I have sinned, it has been ____ weeks since my last confession. These are my sins..." Then you are supposed to have a list of sins. When I was a kid, I had to make up sins, because I had none, but the teachers told me i had to have done something wrong, so I always said I pulled my brothers hair, even though I didn't. Ironically I never confessed about lying to the priest. Whatever you do, don't pick Roman Catholic as your form of Christianity.

Answer 7

To confess your sins means to agree with God that you are a sinner and are in need of salvation. Christ has provided the means by which your sins can be forgiven completely (even the ones you have no idea you've committed), but you must be willing to apply His saving work personally to yourself.

I pray you do just that. I have accepted Him as my Lord 15 years ago, and believe me, it made ALL the difference in the world.

Answer 8

Hi -
I am glad that you consider that you may become a Christian someday. In 1 John 1:9 the Bible says "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

it says "sins" and "all unrighteousness" We cannot hide anything from God, When we confess our sin we agree with God that we have sinned against Him.

Read and study the Bible, ask God for guidance and wisdom.

Answer 9

definite, the a million.2billion catholics ask forgiveness from Jesus, with the aid of confession. we like confessing to the priest for over 2000 yrs and actually biblical... James 5:sixteen. might that make a distinction now only with the aid of fact the anticatholics got here 500 years in the past and ranting subsequently some distance. ought to I supply up listening to the ancients father who carried the apostlic messages to us or to those new minted -johnny-got here-previous due charlatans. LOL

Answer 10

all you have to do is take some time where you can be alone...you and god. and just talk with him as though he is right in front of you. request your forgiveness (but u must mean it). believe that your sins are forgiven and try your best not to repeat them again. God knows your heart. he knows if you are sincere with your confession or not.