Confession Of Sins

[StColette]

In response to many debates that have occurred concerning confession of sins, penance, and the Sacrament of Reconciliation I felt compelled to write the following tract.

One argument that I have come across is that we should not have to orally confess our sins. That sin they are a private matter they should be kept silent only unto God. This type of conclusion can simply be refuted by looking at key verses that are found within the Bible. The Bible is the prime source for showing that oral Confession of sins is not to be deemed wrong since it promotes oral confessions.

For example:

Acts 19:18-19

[i]18 Many of those who had become believers came forward and openly acknowledged their former practices.
19 Moreover, a large number of those who had practiced magic collected their books and burned them in public. They calculated their value and found it to be fifty thousand silver pieces.[/i]

This passage is held both as a public confession of faith and a public confession of sins. Those who had practiced magic have turned away from this sin and are publicly displaying this by burning their books.

James 5:16

[i]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. [/i]

This tells us that we are to confess our sins to one another. In the case of within the Catholic Church, our Priest continue to practice the authority that was given to the Apostles from Christ.

Mt 3:5-6

[i]5 At that time Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him
6 and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins. [/i]

Mk 1:5

[i]5 People of the whole Judean countryside and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins.[/i]

While being baptized in the Jordan, these people made public acknowledgement of their sins.

Nm 5:5-7
[i]5 The LORD said to Moses,
6 "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,
7 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. [/i]

A person must make public acknowledgement of their wrong doing to those that were wronged and he must make things right again. And here we see that when we commit faults against our fellow man we break from faith with the Lord, and thus we must acknowledge are wrong doings to Him as well as to the person(s) we have wronged.

2 Sam 12:13

[i]13 Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan answered David: "The LORD on his part has forgiven your sin: you shall not die. [/i]

Here we say David making oral acknowledgement to Nathan, that he (David) has sinned against God.

Neh 9:2-3

[i]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.
3 When they had taken their places, they read from the book of the law of the LORD their God, for a fourth part of the day, and during another fourth part they made their confession and prostrated themselves before the LORD their God.[/i]

Public confession or sins evident within the Bible yet again.

Baruch 1:13

13 [i]Pray for us also to the Lord, our God; we have sinned against the Lord, our God, and the wrath and anger of the Lord have not yet been withdrawn from us at the present day. [/i]

This is yet another reference to acknowledging oral admission of sins.

Another argument that has been presented to me is that “ All my sins are forgiven past, present, and future...at Calvary” This comes into the terms of “once saved always saved.” While part of that statement is correct one still must be careful of how this view is taken. The Catholic Church upholds that through Christ’s Death for us on the cross that our sins may be reconciled (2 Cor5:18-21). Christ’s death on the cross for us was in fact for past, present, and future sins that they may be forgiven, but we must still ask for that forgiveness from God and repent for our sins..

Biblical References for this practice:

Old Testament

Ps 51: 1-19

[i]1 For the leader. A psalm of David,
2 when Nathan the prophet came to him after his affair with Bathsheba.
3 Have mercy on me, God, in you goodness; in you abundant compassion blot out my offense.
4 Wash away all my guilt; from my sin cleanse me.
5 For I know my offense; my sin is always before me.
6 Against you alone have I sinned; I have done such evil in your sight
That you are just in your sentence blameless when you condemn.
7 True, I was born guilty, a sinner, even as my mother conceived me.
8 Still, you insist on sincerity of heart; in my inmost being teach me wisdom.
9 Cleanse me with hyssop, that I may be pure; wash me; make me whiter than snow.
10 Let me hear sounds of joy and gladness let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
11 Turn away you face from my sins; blot out all my guilt.
12 A clean heart create for me, God; renew in me a steadfast spirit.
13 Do not drive me from your presence, nor take from me your holy spirit.
14 Restore my joy in your salvation; sustain in me a willing spirit.
15 I will teach the wicked your ways, that sinners may return to you.
16 Rescue me from death, God, my saving God, that my tongue may praise your healing power.
17 Lord, open my lips; my mouth will proclaim your praise.
18 For you do not desire sacrifice; a burnt offering you would not accept.
19 My sacrifice, God, is a broke spirit; God, do not spurn a broken, humbled heart. [/i]

David confesses to the sins he has committed and ask for the forgiveness of God. Although this is from the Old Testament we are not to forget that the Bible should be taken in its entirety. We still learning and gain knowledge from the books of the Old Testament, even in regards to the confession of sins.

Ps 38:19

[i]19 I acknowledge my guilt and grieve over my sin.[/i]

David confesses his sin and grieves over his sin because he is truly sorry for sinning against God.

Prv 28:13

[i]13 He who conceals his sins prospers not, but he who confesses and forsakes them obtains mercy. [/i]

This verse states clearly that those who confess their sins and turn away from them shall receive mercy.

Sir 4:26

[i]26 Be not ashamed to acknowledge your guilt, but of your ignorance rather be ashamed. [/i]

This plainly tells us that we should not be ashamed to speak of our sins, it is human pride that makes people ashamed to confess our sins.

New Testament

Lk 24:46-47

[i]46 And he said to them, “Thus it is written that the Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day
47 and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”[/i]

Scripture was written foretelling that Christ, the Messiah, would preach about the repentance of sins.

Mt 6:12

12 [i]and forgive us our debts.
as we forgive our debtors;[/i]

Christ teaches us this within the Lord’s Prayer so that we ask God to forgive our sins but it also makes note that we must forgive those who wrong us for in scripture it says:

Mt 6:14,15
[i]14 If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you.
15 But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions. [/i]

Another argument I’ve come across is this: “ Well, I’ve asked God for forgiveness, I don’t have to do penance for it!”

Penance should be done after one has confessed there sins. Jesus Christ speaks of this in Luke about how we must make restitution for our sins.
Luke 9:8

8 But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over."

This verse shows us that we should make restitution to those we have wronged.

The Old Testament also speaks on making restitution for sins.

Nm 5:5-7

[i]5 The LORD said to Moses,
6 "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,
7 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. [/i]

We must confess our sins and restore ourselves into the good graces of God and those we have wronged. We must make restitution for the wrongs we have done against both God and man.

Yet another argument that is given regarding Confession of sins goes as follows:” A priest can not forgive the sins of man only God can.”

There is extreme Biblical proof that shows Christ giving the authority to forgive sins to His apostles.

John 20:21-23

[i]21 (Jesus) said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you."
22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the holy Spirit.
23 Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." [/i]

First taking, “ Receive the holy Spirit” this part takes us back to Genesis 2:7, when God breathed unto the first man, Adam, and just as Adam came to life from God, so do the Apostles of Christ, receive from Him a spiritual life. Now in John 20:23 we clearly see Jesus giving that apostles authority to forgive sins. And since the Catholic Church is founded on Apostolic Truth the authority to forgive sins is also passed onto the Priests of God’s Church.

Mt 18:18

18 [i]Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. [/i]

Christ gives the apostles authority to bind and loose teachings. The Catholic Church is founded on the Apostolic Truth thus the Sacrament of Confession is bound on Earth and in Heave through the authority of the apostles which came from Christ.

In regard to the confession of sins and repentance yet another false statement is brought up “ If I should die in the state of sin before I confess I would still get into Heaven” this comes back to something I wrote about early and that is the belief of “once saved always saved” The Bible clearly tells us that no sin shall enter Heaven.

Rv. 21:27

27 [i]but nothing unclean will enter it, nor any (one) who does abominable things or tells lies.[/i]

This is why we must confess our sins as often as possible because we never know when we may leave this earth. This is why when we have mortal sin(s) on our soul we are to partake in the Sacrament of Confession which is bond in the Church through the authority of the Apostles, whom received this authority from Christ. Now in the case of dying with venial sins then you would be sent to Purgatory where you will purge your venial sins.

So in closing this tract I hope that I have made it clear the necessity to ask for the forgiveness of sins, the authority of the Catholic Church to have the Sacrament of Confession, and to do penance for our sins.

Go mbeannaí Dia is Muire duit,
Jennie




p.s. Go mbeannaí Dia is Muire duit is Gaelic for May God and Mary Bless you

[MorphRC]

Brilliant Angelies.

Mt 18:18
&
Rv. 21:27

Were particularly good

[StColette]

Yay thanks Morphie I'm glad you liked it I'm severely worn out after that lol

[MorphRC]

Same here after mine. But well worth it in the end

[Crusader_4]

Good acrticle one thing i have come across though is that often protestants will not consider the OT because it is before the Cross and thus not applicable to the OSAS (Once saved always Saved) because it is the "Finished works of Christ" and in the OT the finished works of Christ have not happened. Just a point to keep in mind when disucssing.

[StColette]

hehe Will, yep that came to mind while writing this, but that's why each topic also has a passage from the New Testament reinforcing the practice from the Old Testament.

[Crusader_4]

Smart thinking Jennie...always one step ahead hahah!

[StColette]

lol thanks Will

that's why Phatcatholic has dubbed me " Queen of the Apologetics Board " heehee

[StColette]

*sheepishly bumps her own tract* lol

[franciscanheart]

bump

i know this tract will help out so many of my friends who question this way of doing things!!!! thank you jennie!!!!