non-Catholics: Sins after Baptism --?

[Crumpy]

There are probably many threads on this. I don’t know what to search on.

Please identify your denominational affiliation and answer this question: How to you get God’s mercy and forgiveness for your sins committed after Baptism? What is your theory of this? (of course, Catholics have “Confession” or “Reconciliation” to get absolution for even “mortal” sins committed after Baptism.)

 

[batman1973]

Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Here’s my two bits:

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.(1 Tim. 2:5-6)

We ask God the Father, in the name of Jesus Christ to forgive us our sins. Simple as that, and as the scripture says, He will forgive us of all unrighteousness.

And, it doesn’t hurt to have a broken heart and a contrite spirit. We need to truly feel sorrow for our sins. All sin is an affront to God. If we are saved by His Grace, we will know we have offended God, and we will do our best to come to Him for the forgiveness.

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.(Hebrews 4:16)

 

[Nine_Two]

Confession and the grace of God.

 

[Jerusha]

Only our close cousins have responded.

 

[IggyAntiochus]

There are probably many threads on this. I don’t know what to search on.

Please identify your denominational affiliation and answer this question: How to you get God’s mercy and forgiveness for your sins committed after Baptism? What is your theory of this? (of course, Catholics have “Confession” or “Reconciliation” to get absolution for even “mortal” sins committed after Baptism.)

Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod

Primarily, our sins are forgiven through the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, along with Confession & Holy Absolution. These are the chief means within the Church by which the grace of God ordinarily operates.

It is of course, good to confess our sins directly to the Lord and, as batman said, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. However, it is even better to hear that your sins are forgiven (“Take, eat, this is the true body of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, given into death for you”).

Prayer is not a means of grace and so we should not rely solely upon it to know, objectively, that our sins are forgiven. This is why the office of the holy ministry was established by Christ. Only the ministry has that office of reconciliation.

 

[TC2]

Southern Baptist

And I can’t add anything to what Batman1973 said above, he nailed it!

 

[Slinger]

Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Here’s my two bits:

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.(1 Tim. 2:5-6)

We ask God the Father, in the name of Jesus Christ to forgive us our sins. Simple as that, and as the scripture says, He will forgive us of all unrighteousness.

And, it doesn’t hurt to have a broken heart and a contrite spirit. We need to truly feel sorrow for our sins. All sin is an affront to God. If we are saved by His Grace, we will know we have offended God, and we will do our best to come to Him for the forgiveness.

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.(Hebrews 4:16)

ditto this one…non-denominational Christian

 

[ltwin]

I’m Pentecostal, but Batman 1973 did a pretty good job of explaining it. I’ve never went to a priest or pastor and confessed my sins to him and asked him to give me words of absolution. The way I see it, no man has that authority (unless I had wronged him personally and then yes it would be right for me to then go to him and ask forgiveness). However, there is only one mediator–Jesus. I go to the Father, in Jesus’ name, and confess and ask forgiveness for my sins.

 

[Jerusha]

However, there is only one mediator–Jesus. I go to the Father, in Jesus’ name, and confess and ask forgiveness for my sins.

And if you need advice on how to avoid those sins in the future?
There is some humility involved in confessing your sins to a human person.
Do you practice the opposite virtue rather than dwelling on avoiding the act itself?
When you were baptized, do you believe it was for the predisposition to sin, or your actual sins in the past?
Did you expect that on being baptized you were totally transformed, and you would no longer sin in terms of your particular vulnerabilities (such as addiction issues)?
Do you reject psychology?

 

[ltwin]

Did you run out of patronizing questions to ask me?

And if you need advice on how to avoid those sins in the future?
There is some humility involved in confessing your sins to a human person.

I’m not above asking for advice on avoiding sin. I don’t have to go to a Catholic priest sitting in a confessional booth to do that. And how do you know whether I’ve confessed sins to another person or not? You don’t. Never did I say I do not confess sins to other. I only stated the fact that I don’t have to confess my sins to God via a priest.

Do you practice the opposite virtue rather than dwelling on avoiding the act itself?

I pray to God that his Holy Spirit will continually sanctify me and progressively move me toward a greater measure of the holiness and the love of God. I want more of the fruit of the Spirit to be evident in my life and less sin. I suppose I try to both be virtuous and to avoid sin. I’m not always successful.

When you were baptized, do you believe it was for the predisposition to sin, or your actual sins in the past?

Neither. I was baptized because Jesus told me to. I had a spiritual conversion years earlier where I confessed my sins to God and received forgiveness. Confession has been a part of my spiritual life since. Before I was baptized, I engaged in serious prayer and confessed sins in my life that I had allowed to linger and that I had become desensitized to. So baptism did inaugurate a new era in my Christian life but it was because I took it seriously and as a moment where I was announcing my allegiance to Christ. Therefore, I wanted to examine myself and get things right lest a make a mockery of an ordinance established by Christ himself. I take this same action before I partake of the Lord’s supper.

Did you expect that on being baptized you were totally transformed, and you would no longer sin in terms of your particular vulnerabilities (such as addiction issues)?

I believe that Christ can do anything transformative in our lives at any moment–including baptism. However, I do not know of complete transformation from things such as addiction issues being a normative result of baptism. But I praise God with those who have received such a wonderful blessing.

Do you reject psychology?

No. Do you?

 

[Stilldreamn]

Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod

Primarily, our sins are forgiven through the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, along with Confession & Holy Absolution. These are the chief means within the Church by which the grace of God ordinarily operates.

It is of course, good to confess our sins directly to the Lord and, as batman said, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. However, it is even better to hear that your sins are forgiven (“Take, eat, this is the true body of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, given into death for you”).

Prayer is not a means of grace and so we should not rely solely upon it to know, objectively, that our sins are forgiven. This is why the office of the holy ministry was established by Christ. Only the ministry has that office of reconciliation.

Agree with all of the above. I really NEED to hear it through the Lord’s Supper.

 

[Jerusha]

Did you run out of patronizing questions to ask me?

yes

I believe that Christ can do anything transformative in our lives at any moment–including baptism. However, I do not know of complete transformation from things such as addiction issues being a normative result of baptism. But I praise God with those who have received such a wonderful blessing.

When I was involved in a non-Catholic Charismatic group, this was the expected norm. Therefore, psychology was-- denied. Any psychological problems were from either a lack of faith or demonic influence.

I have several degrees in psychology.

Sounds like your background is much more reasonable that the group I experienced.

 

[SteveVH]

I’m Pentecostal, but Batman 1973 did a pretty good job of explaining it. I’ve never went to a priest or pastor and confessed my sins to him and asked him to give me words of absolution. The way I see it, no man has that authority (unless I had wronged him personally and then yes it would be right for me to then go to him and ask forgiveness). However, there is only one mediator–Jesus. I go to the Father, in Jesus’ name, and confess and ask forgiveness for my sins.

I can’t think of anything that Christ said that was just an empty statement. In fact, everything that he said was said for a reason.

"'Peace be with you. As the Father 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." (Jn. 20:21-23)

Now why in the world would Jesus have said such a thing? Did he not mean what he said? Notice the preface to his statement, just before he “breathed” on them:

"As the Father sent me, so I send you."

Now you are correct in saying that “no man has that authority”. We are not speaking of man’s authority, but rather Christ’s authority. Christ gave his own authoirty to the Apostles (and their successors) to forgive sins (or not). He sent them, just as he had been sent by the Father. He did this in his wisdom, knowing that, as humans, we are in need of that personal assurance of his mercy. There is certainly nothing wrong with feeling sorrow for having offended God and telling him so in direct prayer. But Christ himself gave this incredible power to forgive sins to his Church, through its ordained ministers, for a reason. Why do you suppose that he did that?.

So, one can choose to believe what one chooses to believe, but that really has nothing to do with reality. One may believe that they can walk on air, but when they take that step off a ten story building, the reality of gravity will still exist. Christ really gave this authority and it was not an empty statement but rather the authority to do what he did; to act in his place. There are no experiences that I know of that can match hearing the words “I absolve you of your sins in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” God gave us his mercy and requires that his Church extend this mercy to all who seek it.

 

[ltwin]

Sounds like your background is much more reasonable that the group I experienced.

Sounds like it. There are ignorant people with good intentions.

 

[SteveVH]

There are probably many threads on this. I don’t know what to search on.

Please identify your denominational affiliation and answer this question: How to you get God’s mercy and forgiveness for your sins committed after Baptism? What is your theory of this? (of course, Catholics have “Confession” or “Reconciliation” to get absolution for even “mortal” sins committed after Baptism.)

Your question implies that all non-Catholic Christians believe that baptism is done for the remission of sins. They don’t, as is demostrated by Itwin and his statement that his baptism was for the purpose of “announcing my allegiance to Christ” (See Post #10). This is common in many Protestant faith traditions. It is a public demonstration of their choice to follow Christ and has nothing to do with remission of sins. The sacramental character of Baptism is not part of the equation, a fundamental aspect that has been lost through the years since the “Reformation”. This is one reason that many reject infant Baptism, because an infant is not capable of making a choice. It is seen as a statement on behalf of the one being baptized, not a grace given to us by an action of God, regardless of our intellectual capability. In fact, sacraments as a whole are not understood nor practiced by those who view Baptism in this manner.

By the way, Itwin, please understand that I have not chosen your statement for any other reason than to demonstrate my point that many non-Catholics would approach this question from an entirely different perspective depending on their view of the purpose of Baptism.

 

[JonNC]

I’m Pentecostal, but Batman 1973 did a pretty good job of explaining it. I’ve never went to a priest or pastor and confessed my sins to him and asked him to give me words of absolution. The way I see it, no man has that authority (unless I had wronged him personally and then yes it would be right for me to then go to him and ask forgiveness). However, there is only one mediator–Jesus. I go to the Father, in Jesus’ name, and confess and ask forgiveness for my sins.

Perhaps Batman 1973 didn’t explain it completely. When he/she or any other lutheran confesses, either during worship, or privately, we confess to a pastor. Now, we are also confessing to God in Heaven, but as scripture tells us, the pastor hears our confession in persona christi, and has the power to absolve our sins.
He states,“As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all of your sins. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”.

Jon

 

[Jerusha]

If the individual does not have the humility to confess his sins to another human being, is he truly repentant? The assurance coming from another human being, saying that your sins ARE forgiven, can be reassuring for a person who struggles with feelings of condemnation, or who believes that his sins are worse than anyone else’s. This is particularly true when we realize that sin distances us from God. People struggling to repair their relationship with God may at times wonder if it is worth it, and fall away. “I absolve you of your sins,” means “I” the confessor, as well as the rest of humanity, and God.

 

[batman1973]

Perhaps Batman 1973 didn’t explain it completely. When he/she or any other lutheran confesses, either during worship, or privately, we confess to a pastor. Now, we are also confessing to God in Heaven, but as scripture tells us, the pastor hears our confession in persona christi, and has the power to absolve our sins.
He states,“As a called and ordained servant of Christ, and by His authority, I therefore forgive you all of your sins. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”.

Jon

Well, I wasnt sure if the OP wanted personal opinions, or church doctrine. I stated what I do to receive forgivness. The pastor at my LCMS church said that confession is between the sinner and God. Of course there is the Holy Euchrist. That is important. But, in order to make sure we dont eat and drink unworthily, we should have asked for the forgiveness first.

 

[CopticChristian]

And if you need advice on how to avoid those sins in the future?
There is some humility involved in confessing your sins to a human person.
Do you practice the opposite virtue rather than dwelling on avoiding the act itself?
When you were baptized, do you believe it was for the predisposition to sin, or your actual sins in the past?
Did you expect that on being baptized you were totally transformed, and you would no longer sin in terms of your particular vulnerabilities (such as addiction issues)?
Do you reject psychology?

Jer,

I reject Psychology.

 

[stewstew03]

…It is a public demonstration of their choice to follow Christ and has nothing to do with remission of sins…

And yet, they absolutely insist that the ritual conform to a certain set of rules; namely, believer’s baptism by immersion only!