Confession to a priest

[cw4lsu]

I have been confronted by two Evangelicals concerning confession to a priest. I told them the reason that I go to confession is because the Bible and the Church teaches it and for absolution it is necessary to confess one’s sins to a priest. They both argue that since the Holy Spirit lives in all of us that it is not necessary to confess to a preist that one can just simply ask Christ for forgiveness and it is done privately. I just said “Oh no, Martin Luther strikes again…the priesthood of all beleivers.” and that was generally the end of the conversation.

I am sure it will come up again though. How should I answer them more intelligently or with scriptural backup or should I just avoid the situation all together. I am looking for a little help here from people who may have encountered this before? Thanks.

 

[japhy]

I told them the reason that I go to confession is because the Bible and the Church teaches it and for absolution it is necessary to confess one’s sins to a priest. They both argue that since the Holy Spirit lives in all of us that it is not necessary to confess to a preist that one can just simply ask Christ for forgiveness and it is done privately.

Nowhere that I know of does Scripture teach that we confess our sins privately and interiorly to God. Instead, Jesus himself endowed the Apostles with the ability to forgive or retain sins, which requires that they (and their successors) HEAR those sins. Acts 19:18 is another good example of verbal confession of sins.

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I just said “Oh no, Martin Luther strikes again…the priesthood of all believers.”

The Catholic Church does teach a baptismal priesthood, but it differs in essence and degree from the ordained priesthood.

 

[IrishAm]

I just said “Oh no, Martin Luther strikes again…the priesthood of all beleivers.” and that was generally the end of the conversation.

Actually, that’s a pretty good response! May leave open some theological nuances, but it brings the conversation to a close, which is probably the most desireable effect.

 

[Karmartia]

I think people often seem to overlook the fact that by participating in the Sacrament of Reconciliation fully, we recieve Grace to help us avoid future sin. The Sacrament is more than just confession, but a process that also involves penance as a means of atonement by the Grace of God. That a priest has the authority to give absolution ought to be obvious, but it is the obligation of penance imposed by the priest that completes the process. Just as confession without contrition is pointless, absolution without penance is no repentance. Reconciliation not only absolves of us our sin, but gives us the means by which to go and sin no more. In my humble opinion.

 

[cw4lsu]

The best way to get to an Evangelical is through scripture so I found two last night that covered the whole thing.

First: Matthew 16:18 when Jesus in his own words gives Peter the keys to the kingdom

Second: John 20:19-23 during the Great Commission when Jesus breathes on his apostles and gives them the Holy Spirit and then gives them the authority to forgive or retain sins.

That outta make the case closed.

 

[Earnest_Bunbury]

Nowhere that I know of does Scripture teach that we confess our sins privately and interiorly to God. Instead, Jesus himself endowed the Apostles with the ability to forgive or retain sins, which requires that they (and their successors) HEAR those sins. Acts 19:18 is another good example of verbal confession of sins.

The man beating his chest and saying “Have mercy on me a sinner” seems to indicate acknowledgment of sin with contrition is the basis for a belief in confession to God.

Jesus in the upper room saying “Whose sins you forgive, are forgiven, those you retain, are retained” is the basis we can give for an apostolic sacramental confession.

From John’s Gospel:

21Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Of course we are bound by the Church’s teaching: From the Catechism

1456 Confession to a priest is an essential part of the sacrament of Penance: “All mortal sins of which penitents after a diligent self-examination are conscious must be recounted by them in confession, even if they are most secret and have been committed against the last two precepts of the Decalogue; for these sins sometimes wound the soul more grievously and are more dangerous than those which are committed openly.”

 

[Philomeena]

Something else to consider: When we sin it is not between just us and God. When we sin-it usually involves hurting some member of the community. When we bring our confession to church we are bringing it to the “community” or to the Body of Christ.

I usually don’t fight these kind of arguments with scripture-it sometimes can have the effect of putting us in the fundamentaliast or literalist frame of mind. Scripture grew out of the church, not the other way around. And in Matthew’s discipleship discourse in chapter 18, where binding and loosing is also discussed, someone might argue that he was speaking to all of his discciples, not just the twelve. It is usually fruitless to fight literalism with literalism-it just tends to go around and around.

When these questions (accusations?) come up, I avoid argument by sharing how blessed I feel to have the opportunity to state my sins out loud (taking responsibility for them), to hear the voice of Christ forgiving me on behalf of the community and to feel that deep love that sometimes can only be felt when we are forgiven by someone we love. No one can argue my feelings or experiences, so I just share those.

I have found you just can’t win some arguments, but you can simply be a witness to your faith.

 

[Todd_Easton]

In the early Church, the sickness and death of a Christian was sometimes the result of his own sinful behavior. (See Acts 5:1-10; 1 Corinthians 11:30) The Bible tells the sick (and sinful) Christian not to just pray privately but to call for the elders (priests) of the Church and confess his sins and have them pray over him (and anoint him with oil, in the name of the Lord) that he might be healed and his sins forgiven. (James 5:14-16)

 

[Philthy]

Something else to consider: When we sin it is not between just us and God. When we sin-it usually involves hurting some member of the community. When we bring our confession to church we are bringing it to the “community” or to the Body of Christ.

Good points! Sinning always wounds the entire body of Christ - it is our fallen nature and limited wisdom which prohibits us from recognizing this.

 

[Erich]

John 20:19-23 during the Great Commission when Jesus breathes on his apostles and gives them the Holy Spirit and then gives them the authority to forgive or retain sins.

When’s the only other time in the Bible that God breathes on someone and gives him the Holy Spirit? Genesis 2:7 “the LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being.”

 

[DebChris]

I have been confronted by two Evangelicals concerning confession to a priest. I told them the reason that I go to confession is because the Bible and the Church teaches it and for absolution it is necessary to confess one’s sins to a priest. They both argue that since the Holy Spirit lives in all of us that it is not necessary to confess to a preist that one can just simply ask Christ for forgiveness and it is done privately. I just said “Oh no, Martin Luther strikes again…the priesthood of all beleivers.” and that was generally the end of the conversation.

I am sure it will come up again though. How should I answer them more intelligently or with scriptural backup or should I just avoid the situation all together. I am looking for a little help here from people who may have encountered this before? Thanks.

Martin Luther encouraged the confession of sins (Boenhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship). Confession to another is a remedy against pride and self-deceit.
Philomeena (#7) points to the relationship aspect of sin. If I cause harm to my relationship with another person, is that relationship healed by simply claiming forgiveness? Don’t I need to talk to that person and admit my own responsibility in order to reconcile with the person who has a grievance against me?
The priest acts in personna of Christ. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, through the Sacrament of Holy Orders, he provides insight and guidance that enables me to more easily lead the life to which I am called. If I cannot admit my sins privately in the presence of another human, how will I stand when I come face to face with the God of the Universe?

 

[steve_b]

The best way to get to an Evangelical is through scripture so I found two last night that covered the whole thing.

First: Matthew 16:18 when Jesus in his own words gives Peter the keys to the kingdom

Second: John 20:19-23 during the Great Commission when Jesus breathes on his apostles and gives them the Holy Spirit and then gives them the authority to forgive or retain sins.

That outta make the case closed.

If it was only that simple

 

[Randy_Carson]

I have been confronted by two Evangelicals concerning confession to a priest. I told them the reason that I go to confession is because the Bible and the Church teaches it and for absolution it is necessary to confess one’s sins to a priest. They both argue that since the Holy Spirit lives in all of us that it is not necessary to confess to a preist that one can just simply ask Christ for forgiveness and it is done privately. I just said “Oh no, Martin Luther strikes again…the priesthood of all beleivers.” and that was generally the end of the conversation.

I am sure it will come up again though. How should I answer them more intelligently or with scriptural backup or should I just avoid the situation all together. I am looking for a little help here from people who may have encountered this before? Thanks.

In a little pamphlet entitled, “Why confess your sins to a priest?”, the Rev. John Dowling provides five categories of reasons why Catholics believe they should go to a priest for confession in the sacrament of reconciliation:

• Biblical Reasons
• Ecclesial Reasons
• Incarnational Reasons
• Psychological Reasons
• Penitential Reasons

I will focus initially on the Biblical reasons for confession and reserve the remaining four for further discussion if there is interest.

On the evening of the Resurrection, Jesus appeared in the midst of the apostles and said to them:

“As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” (John 20:21-23)

Jesus says, “As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” Elsewhere in the gospels, Jesus tells the apostles that the Father has sent him into the world with “all authority”. In like manner, Jesus commissions them with the authority He has been given – authority the apostles will need to carry out the mission He has entrusted them with.

Notice that Jesus prefaces his remarks about forgiveness by saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Fr. Dowling rightly notes here that the capacity to have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us is a far greater thing than the ability to forgive sins. If the former is possible, the latter does not seem impossible.

Unless we assume that Jesus has also given the apostles the ability to read minds, this passage presupposes that there is a hearing of the sins in order for a judgment to be made as to whether the sins should be forgiven or retained, depending on whether or not the person is truly sorry for his or her sins. Without sorrow for sins, there can be no forgiveness; even God cannot forgive an unrepentant sinner or hardened heart. In saying “if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven”, Jesus precludes the possible argument that He was merely giving the apostles the authority to preach the message of forgiveness. Clearly, the apostles were to judge and forgive or retain the sins of men.

Matthew’s Gospel provides another important passage revealing God’s intention for the power Jesus shares with His Church:

“Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!” Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…” Then he said to the paralytic, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” And the man got up and went home. When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.” (Matthew 9:2-8)

The central focus of this story is not the healing of the paralyzed man but the revelation of the authority of Jesus. Why does this passage indicate that this authority has been passed on to the Church? Verse eight says, “When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.” Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Matthew records correctly that the authority to forgive sins had been given not to a single man, Jesus, but to men. We can know this because he is not quoting the comments of the crowd in this verse but ascribing to them the proper reason for why they were filled with awe. Additionally, we know that Matthew wrote this passage some 15-20 years after the event described thus giving us the assurance that he had plenty of time to reflect upon the truth of what he has just written and had seen the forgiveness of sins through confession in actual practice in the early Church. If this were not the case, then Matthew would not have written as he did.

(cont.)

 

[Randy_Carson]

Paul also talks about the ministry of forgiveness that has been passed on from Jesus. In his second letter to the church in Corinth we read:

“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:18-20)

Here Paul speaks of both the message and the ministry of reconciliation. Forgiveness of sins is proclaimed as part of the good news; actual reconciliation through confession and absolution is administered through the sacrament. In this way, the Church completes the mission of Jesus by preaching, by baptizing, and by forgiving sins.

Note, too, the use of the pronouns “we”, “us”, and “you” in this passage. When speaking strictly of the ministry of reconciliation, Paul says that God “gave us the ministry of reconciliation” and that “we are therefore Christ’s ambassadors as though God were making his appeal through us.” Then, he says “We implore you” to be reconciled. Clearly, there are two groups: those who have the ministry of reconciliation and those to whom he is speaking of being reconciled. The “you” – his audience – to whom he is speaking does not share in that ministry. Therefore, we can understand that some have the responsibility to reconcile men to God and some do not. This ministry is consistent with the function of the priesthood. For example, consider the following passage from the Gospel of Matthew:

“When he came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately he was cured of his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” (Matthew 8:1-4)

In this passage, we see that Jesus healed the man of leprosy, but He still directs the man to show himself to the priest at the temple and to offer the sacrifice commanded by the law. Why? First, in doing so, the man’s cure gave testimony about Jesus because the miracle performed was a sign of Christ’s divine nature. Second, the priest confirmed the healing and reconciled the man to society which he was then allowed to re-enter.

Confession to a priest is very similar to this. As Patrick Madrid notes in his book, Does the Bible Really Say That?, “No [one] can make a good sacramental confession without first confessing directly to God. Only then can one properly receive the sacrament of confession, receiving sacramental absolution from the priest, who ministers in persona Christi (in the person of Christ).” This refers back to the ministry of reconciliation Paul described above. Once the penitent has confessed his sin to God, shown himself to be truly contrite and received absolution (offering the sacrifice or penance prescribed by the priest), he is reconciled to both God and the Body of Christ and, in the case of grave matter, allowed to re-enter the sacramental life of the Church.

Finally, we read in the Letter of James (which Martin Luther called an “epistle of straw”):

“Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters of the church, and they should pray over him and anoint (him) with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” (James 5:14-16)

“Presbyter” is the word from which we get our English word “priest”. It means “elder”. James encourages us to call a priest to pray and anoint someone who is ill – a passage from which we get the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. The prayer of this righteous man will not only heal the sick, but will forgive any sins that they may have committed. This passage confirms the ministry of forgiveness of sins which the Church carries out in Christ’s name.

 

[Earnest_Bunbury]

If it was only that simple

It is as simple as accepting the authority of the Church! He who hears you hears Me. But no one can come to Me unless called by the Father. Pray to be brought to the Truth!

Seems to me acceptance of authority is the mark of humility.