Explaining confession to a Baptist

[jtav]

My mother and I were talking and the subject of confession. She is a lifelong Baptist, and doesn’t understand why I feel the need to confess my sins to a priest when I can go directly to God. I said that first of all it’s Christ who forgives sins in the person of the priest. Although I can “talk directly to God” and He is not bound by the sacraments, confession is the normative way of doing things and instituted by none other than Our Lord. What else would you recommend I say yo her if the subject comes up again?

 

[matthias]

I’d suggest emphasising the incarnation. Christ took on flesh so that we could meet him “in person” (body) and actually hear his voice in our ears telling us he loves us and forgives us.

This incarnational experience of Christ is so important that Christ before he ascended to heaven appeared to the Apostles and said…

ESV: John 20:21-23Jesus Appears to the Disciples

**21Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.” **

So going “directly to Christ” is importand and because of his incarnation and promise to his apostles, the most direct way to the incarnate Christ is in a Priest.

 

[Prayer_Warrior]

Here are scriptures that support confession. The point that has to be driven home is that when we confess to a priest we ARE confessing to God. Do Baptists think that God disappears when we enter a confessional? However, we Catholics have the advantage of receiving absolution by a priest acting in the person of Christ. (this is one reason we do not have female priests…women cannot act in persona Christi). People who confess to priests are performing an act of humility. This is the Sacrament that Jesus gave us for reconcilliation to Him. Here is a site from a former “Bible only” Christian that further explains the history of priests in the Bible and passing on of authority to forgive sins.

 

[KnightforChrist]

Just to add to the replies above, another wonderful thing about going to confession is that you actually hear the words of forgiveness, that “your sins are absolved”…

Many times people wonder if their sins are forgiven when praying for forgiveness on our own, but with confession, we can hear those beautiful words and feel that enormous weight lift from our hearts…

It really is a wonderful feeling of relief…

 

[marci]

A book I would recommend I “Where is That in the Bible?” by Patrick Madrid. It gives scriptural references for catholic belief in confession and a number of other doctrines that protestants dispute.

 

[thistle]

My mother and I were talking and the subject of confession. She is a lifelong Baptist, and doesn’t understand why I feel the need to confess my sins to a priest when I can go directly to God. I said that first of all it’s Christ who forgives sins in the person of the priest. Although I can “talk directly to God” and He is not bound by the sacraments, confession is the normative way of doing things and instituted by none other than Our Lord. What else would you recommend I say yo her if the subject comes up again?

catholic.com/library/Confession.asp
catholic.com/library/Forgiveness_of_Sins.asp