Confessing

[Montie_Claunch]

I have a question about confession. I fergot where I heard/read it but, I was reading this thing on confession and it sounded like in confession that God was forgiveing us our sins throught the preist. Though not in the scince of…man how to explain this? O.K. here is what I have in my mind. From my understanding of Confession, it is Jesus ordained the apostles (and their succesors) to forgive sins. So it is Man through God forgiveing us our sins. Though what I read sounded like God through Man forgiving us our sins. I guess what I am trying to ask is in a nutshell how would this go, God Forgives through Man or Man through God forgives us? You know what I am trying to say?

 

[Roman_Army]

God utilizes the priest to forgive sins. Men don’t forgive sins, it is God that forgives through man.

 

[Sherlock]

Montie Claunch:

I have a question about confession. I fergot where I heard/read it but, I was reading this thing on confession and it sounded like in confession that God was forgiveing us our sins throught the preist. Though not in the scince of…man how to explain this? O.K. here is what I have in my mind. From my understanding of Confession, it is Jesus ordained the apostles (and their succesors) to forgive sins. So it is Man through God forgiveing us our sins. Though what I read sounded like God through Man forgiving us our sins. I guess what I am trying to ask is in a nutshell how would this go, Go Forgives through Man or Man through God forgives us? You know what I am trying to say?

I’m not sure I know what you’re trying to say…but this is how I would put it: God forgives our sins, through the instrument of the priest. That human element gives us what we psychologically need (of course, because God made us!), which is: confirmation that our sins are forgiven. They lacked this in the Old Testament–that is, they made sacrifices in atonement for their sins, but they lacked the verbal assurance that they were forgiven–God didn’t send an angel down every time with a trumpet, saying “God has forgiven your sins!”. This is what we do have with the priest. I can speak for myself and say that, when I was away from the Church in my Protestant years, I was really sorry for my sins, but somehow I never had peace and was still haunted by them. After I went to confession, I knew real peace.

 

[hurst]

Montie Claunch:

…
I guess what I am trying to ask is in a nutshell how would this go, Go Forgives through Man or Man through God forgives us? You know what I am trying to say?

In a sense it is both, because the priest has to decide whether to grant it to you. It is possible to go to confession and be refused absolution. He is acting as a judge to determine this. He decides also what your penance should be. When he gives absolution, Christ acts through Him to actually impart you the life of grace again.

It is the same with regard to baptism or Holy Eucharist, etc. The action must be made on the decision of the priest, but then God acts in it.

Matthew 18:18 Amen I say to you, whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed also in heaven.

hurst