A simple question about Confession

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Hey Everyone!

I have a quick question. I have been reading my bible (RSV-CE compact edition), and I am not having luck finding justification for Confession as we Catholics practice it. I’m in the middle of James right now and think I might have missed it.:confused: Thanks for your help!
 
Here is a list of verse that can help:

scripturecatholic.com/confession.html

Remember too, the substance of sacraments is unchanging, but how they are celebrated is often changed over time. For example, confessions used to be public rather than private.
 
Catholics don’t “proof text” things, but you’ll want to check out:

Matthew 9:8
John 20:21-23
 
Penitus said:
Catholics don’t “proof text” things, but you’ll want to check out:

Matthew 9:8
John 20:21-23
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I’m not sure what the exact definition of “proof text” is, but Church teaching is based on Scripture. The pertinent passages are usually referenced when the teaching is compiled. The CCC is full of Scripture references.
 
John 20: 21-23 (Jesus) said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 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.”
 
Nita said:
I’m not sure what the exact definition of “proof text” is, but Church teaching is based on Scripture. The pertinent passages are usually referenced when the teaching is compiled. The CCC is full of Scripture references.
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Not necessarily. By your logic, the Church never practiced confession until the parts of the New Testament that mention confession were written. Not so, my friend.

Scripture may contain tons of Catholic teaching, but our beliefs aren’t based upon Scripture alone.
 
RedSoxFan said:
I have a quick question. I have been reading my bible (RSV-CE compact edition), and I am not having luck finding justification for Confession as we Catholics practice it. I’m in the middle of James right now and think I might have missed it.:confused: Thanks for your help!
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In the middle of James? Keep reading! James 5:16: “Confess your sins to one another”
Recall the previous verses mark “one another” to be the elders.
 
Spirithound said:
In the middle of James? Keep reading! James 5:16: “Confess your sins to one another”
Recall the previous verses mark “one another” to be the elders.
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DOH!!! Yeah finished James and found a good example in there. Thanks! Everyone!
 
When that verse in James is quoted to a Protestant, you’re likely to hear something how it doesn’t mention priests, only other lay persons.

However, the point becomes clearer when you read the writings of the early Christians: in the early Church, confession was often performed in the entire congregation. That is, you’d have to stand and mention your sins in front of everyone. Naturally, absolution came from a bishop or presbyter 😉
 
Leviticus 4:27-35

27’Now if anyone of the** common people sins unintentionally **in doing any of the things which the LORD has commanded not to be done, and becomes guilty,

28if his sin which he has committed is made known to him, then he shall bring for his offering a goat, a female without defect, for his sin which he has committed.

29’He shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slay the** sin offering **at the place of the burnt offering.

30’The priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering; and all the rest of its blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar.

31’Then he shall remove all its fat, just as the fat was removed from the sacrifice of peace offerings; and the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar for a soothing aroma to the LORD. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven.

32’But if** he brings a lamb as his offering for a sin offering**, he shall bring it, a female without defect.

33’He shall lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slay it for a sin offering in the place where they slay the burnt offering.

34’The priest is to take some of the blood of the sin offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and all the rest of its blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar.

35’Then he shall remove all its fat, just as the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of the peace offerings, and the priest shall offer them up in smoke on the altar, on the offerings by fire to the LORD Thus **the priest shall make atonement for him in regard to his sin which he has committed, and he will be forgiven. **

**Old
This is “Confession” during the time of Moses. The priest made atonement for our sins. we brought an animal and offered it up to God for our sins.

New
Jesus is our sacrifice. He is our Lamb lead to slaughter because of the sin of Adam and because of our sins. No longer do we spill blood for our sins. Yet we still sin. So we humble ourselves and take our sins to a priest and he shall make atonement for our sins, and we are forgiven.**

**
John 20:21-23 **

21So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; **as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” **

22And when He had said this, He **breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. **

23"If **you **forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained."

Each priest is ordained by a bishop who can trace his succession back to the apostles.

**And if you notice in Genesis when God asks Adam and Eve “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” They “confess” then an animal is sacrificed to cover them because of their sin (disobedience and pride). **

Remember “oral” came before “written”. Just as the Church came before the Bible. After all the Bible did not create the Church, but the Church wrote the Bible. The Jewish people believe in “Oral Law” and “Written Law”.
 
Nita said:
I’m not sure what the exact definition of “proof text” is, but Church teaching is based on Scripture. The pertinent passages are usually referenced when the teaching is compiled. The CCC is full of Scripture references.
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No, Church teaching is not based on scripture. Church teaching is based on the faith given by God to the Apostles and handed down by them. Much of that teaching found its way into scripture (in more or less explicit forms), but the teaching existed before the scripture.

What we can say is that Church teaching is usually confirmed by scripture, and never contradicts scripture.
 
RedSoxFan said:
Hey Everyone!

I have a quick question. I have been reading my bible (RSV-CE compact edition), and I am not having luck finding justification for Confession as we Catholics practice it. I’m in the middle of James right now and think I might have missed it.:confused: Thanks for your help!
Click to expand...
The problem you are having is you are reading the Bible as if it is the “rule book” or the Standard Operating Procedure for the Church. It is not. The Gospels tell us of the life and times of Jesus. Each of the book’s authors was trying to relate to us something about the Messiah that they wanted us to know. The Acts of the Apostles is a narrative to instruct us of the lives of some of the Apostles in the earliest days of the Church. The Epistles were written to specific communities that were struggling with individual issues of their day. None of these were originally written as a “how to” book for the coming generations.

The Church has used these writings, coupled with Tradition (oral teaching), to develop doctrine down through the ages. Confession was a part of the early Church in her beginnings. We know this from non-canonical writings of the day.

My advice to you is when you have a question about a particular item that appears to be uniquely Catholic, look to the Catechism. You will find a much better answer there.👍
 
Definition of RECONCILIATION: To restore friendship and settle differences.

The worst evil is not to commit a sin; but to commit a sin, and then deny it. If we are weak enough to commit a sin, we should be humble enough to admit it.

We ALL need forgiveness. We are all fragile human beings. We all fall victim to sin. When we sin, we should seek out Jesus for forgiveness.

There is a biblical foundation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

We need to establish two key beliefs of the Catholic faith:

(1) That Jesus had the power to forgive sin and
(2) That Jesus shared this power with his church.

Jesus shared his power, over sin, with his church in two ways: In a GENERAL way, and in a SPECIFIC way.

One day Jesus was teaching his disciples and asked them “Who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Then Jesus said, “You are Peter….I will give you the Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven (I will post my comments on the “Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven” at a later date, if anyone is interested in my thoughts on this.). Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven. Here Jesus clearly shared his divine power in a GENERAL way with his church.

Jesus also shared, in a SPECIFIC way, his divine power over sin.

On Easter Sunday night, the apostles were gathered together. Jesus appeared to them and said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” Jesus then said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them; and whose sins you retain, are retained.”

The chief way the church exercises its power over sin is in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Recall the parable of the man who had two sons (Luke 15:11-24).

This parable stresses four events:

(1) The son examined his situation
(2) He repented his sinful ways
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(3) He confessed his sins, and
(4) He resolved to amend his life.

Now keeping these events in mind, let’s go back to the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

When we” come to our senses,” after sinning, we do exactly what the prodigal son did.

1st - We examine our situation
2nd - We repent our situation
3rd - We confess our sins, and
4th - We resolve to amend our life.

The Catholic Priest does what the father of the prodigal son did.

While the boy was on the way home, but still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion, and ran out to greet him. The boy said to his father, “I have sinned against Heaven and against you.” The father ordered his servants to bring out the finest robe and put it on his son. The father said “ put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet - then celebrate - because this son of his was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.”

The father of the prodigal son does four things:

(1) He embraced his son, welcoming him back TOTALLY.
(2) He put shoes on his feet (all free persons wore shoes)
(3) He put a ring on his finger (giving him family status), and
(4) He ordered a banquet.

The Catholic Priest does these same four things in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The priest (1) welcomes the sinner back, (2) he forgives the sinner in the name of Jesus, (3) he restores the sinner to full Christian family status and (4) he invites the sinner to feast again at the Lord’s supper (our Communion).

Remember - only Jesus can forgive sins. The priest serves as the mediator between the sinner and Jesus. A sinner can go directly to God to ask for forgiveness. However the Catholic church strongly urges sinners to participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation where counsel and encouragement is available. Asking Jesus to forgive your sins in front of a priest, a minister for God, is a very moving and rewarding event. Also, isn’t it great to hear the priest, mediator for Jesus, say to us “Your sins are forgiven…….“ To hear these words is very meaningful. This Sacrament is a most definite and holy way to reconcile ourselves with our Lord.
 
RedSoxFan said:
Hey Everyone!

I have a quick question. I have been reading my bible (RSV-CE compact edition), and I am not having luck finding justification for Confession as we Catholics practice it. I’m in the middle of James right now and think I might have missed it.:confused: Thanks for your help!
Click to expand...
Go back to the Gospel of John. There you will read that After Christ rose from the dead, the Apostles were gathered together and the door was locked. Jesus appeared in the midst of them, breathed on them and said “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whosoever sins you forgive, they are forgiven them. Whosoever sins you retain, they are retained.” This is when Jesus instituted the Sacrament of confession.

Here are the actual verses:
John 20:19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
John 20:20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
John 20:21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.”
John 20:22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
John 20:23 If you forgive the sins of any, theyare forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

That is where Jesus Instituted the Sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession.

Also in first John it says:
1John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

So, Christ gave the Apostles the Authority to forgive sins, and if we do confess our sins "He is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins.

May the Lord watch over you and bless you.

Your brother in Christ.
 
lsburk said:
The problem you are having is you are reading the Bible as if it is the “rule book” or the Standard Operating Procedure for the Church. It is not. The Gospels tell us of the life and times of Jesus. Each of the book’s authors was trying to relate to us something about the Messiah that they wanted us to know. The Acts of the Apostles is a narrative to instruct us of the lives of some of the Apostles in the earliest days of the Church. The Epistles were written to specific communities that were struggling with individual issues of their day. None of these were originally written as a “how to” book for the coming generations.

The Church has used these writings, coupled with Tradition (oral teaching), to develop doctrine down through the ages. Confession was a part of the early Church in her beginnings. We know this from non-canonical writings of the day.

My advice to you is when you have a question about a particular item that appears to be uniquely Catholic, look to the Catechism. You will find a much better answer there.👍
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I agree with your statement. The reason for asking, though, was to use the answers here for when talking to a strict bible christian. The Catechism wouldn’t impress them, but scripture would. 😉
 
I just want to say the answers given to my questions are really impressive.
 
Confession is still public; it’s called the Penitential Rite, and we do it every sunday:

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 Mary, ever virgin,
all the angels and saints,
and you, my brothers and sisters,
to pray for me to the Lord our God.
May almighty God have mercy on us,
forgive us our sins,
and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.

There are some really strange ideas about confession being floated on this forum, such as Christ wants us to be embarrassed by our sins so he instituted confessing to a priest. Huh? This is how the Lord operates? I don’t think so.

Also, as for the catholic proof texts offered above (I know, we don’t use them, except for all the times we use them…), Mt 9:2 seems to equate forgiveness of sins with physical healing.

2And behold they brought to him one sick of the palsy lying in a bed. And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the man sick of the palsy: Be of good heart, son, thy sins are forgiven thee.

One could argue that this is what was being transferred to the apostles - and their healing powers are much discussed in Acts.
You’ll also note that the man didn’t say a word, offered no confession to receive forgiveness. The Lord simply took pity on him.
 
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