Protestants, how are you certain your sins are forgiven?

[Singinbeauty]

What if someone commits murder and the victim dies instantly? God knew things like this would happen. Why would He expect you to only confess to the person you just killed(wronged)? How COULD you do that? How would you “confess your sins to one another” in this instance? Scripture doesn’t say, “confess your sins to one another except in certain circumstances…” See what I’m getting at? If God meant you only needed to confess to him without going through a priest, he wouldn’t have said, “confess your sins to one another.”

Ah Ah Ah… :tsktsk:

If you don’t go to the authorities to confess what you have done to ‘fix’ the act of murder that you have committed then your confession to God would not be a truthful and sincere one. Along with your confession to God you have to be willing to ‘fix’ the issue of the one you have wronged. So if they are dead because you killed them then you need to realize that you need to atone for that by going to jail and if you are TRULY sorry you will turn yourself in. By hiding it means you put youself before what is right and in that case you cannot be forgiven. In cases where someone becomes a christian behind bars they are forgiven when they lift their eyes to God and acknowledge that they belong there for what they have done and they accept His Love and Forgiveness and Trust that He will bring them through.

 

[Lampo]

Ah Ah Ah… :tsktsk:

If you don’t go to the authorities to confess what you have done to ‘fix’ the act of murder that you have committed then your confession to God would not be a truthful and sincere one. Along with your confession to God you have to be willing to ‘fix’ the issue of the one you have wronged. So if they are dead because you killed them then you need to realize that you need to atone for that by going to jail and if you are TRULY sorry you will turn yourself in. By hiding it means you put youself before what is right and in that case you cannot be forgiven. In cases where someone becomes a christian behind bars they are forgiven when they lift their eyes to God and acknowledge that they belong there for what they have done and they accept His Love and Forgiveness and Trust that He will bring them through.

Nowhere did I say not to confess to the authorities. I don’t think it matters if this person would go to Confession before or after confessing to the authorities would it?