Seeking forgiveness of sin from God

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This question popped into my mind and I hope someone can help enlighten me.

What do other Christian denominations and the other abrahamic religions believe about seeking forgiveness of our sins FROM God, not from other people. I know as Catholics we seek forgiveness from God through confession or perfect contrition. How do protestant denominations, muslims, and jews view the idea of seeking forgiveness of sins from God?

I did do a search for this topic and what turned up was a thread from 2008 that covered what other religions taught about forgiving other people, not seeking forgiveness from God.
 
I’m sure you will get different answers from different traditions. Here is what I was taught and seek to practice as I live out my faith.

Basically, there is no need for a Priest because we have direct access to the “throne of Grace” through our great High Priest who is Christ Himself acting as our mediator.

Forgiveness is received directly from Christ/God through a life of faith which necessarily results in a humble and contrite heart in which we acknowledge/confess our sins and need for forgiveness in our ongoing prayer life to God and in our interaction with fellow believers as we seek to encourage and equip each other to live a life of repentance and holiness.

Also, if we are struggling with a particular sin we may seek pastoral counseling or counseling with a trusted brother or sister in Christ.

Edit to add: I attend a Baptist/Reformed church. However, I believe my explanation will line up pretty closely with pretty much any American Evangelical denomination. (Baptist, Methodist, Assembly of God, Presbyterian, and so forth)
 
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Confessing directly to God leaves a small problem. When God gave his apostles the authority over sin He said “to forgive OR RETAIN” How do you know if your sins were forgiven or retained? The priest, acting in persona Christi (in the person of Christ) announces your sins forgiveness or not. So I know.
 
Muslims believe that all you have to do is ask God directly for forgiveness. If you are sincerely sorry for what sin you did, He will forgive you and that’s the end of it. In the Qur’an, after Moses accidentally kills an Egyptian, he sought forgiveness from Allah and He forgave him.
 
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But how do you find out if you met God’s criteria for sincerity?
 
ZemD said:
What do other Christian denominations and the other abrahamic religions believe about seeking forgiveness of our sins FROM God, not from other people.
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@lanman87’s answer was good.

@Evan, we rely on the promise of Scripture that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9) and “Everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins" (Acts 10:43). If you have sincerely confessed your sin in prayer and repented of it in your heart, God had has said in his Word that he forgives us.

The church’s authority to remit and retain sin is declaratory. A minister can say to those who believe that their sins are forgiven and to those who do not believe that their sins are not forgiven. The church proclaims on earth what God has already done in Heaven.
 
As I was pondering over this question I came across several scriptural references where someone prayed directly to God for forgiveness.

David stands out. In Psalm 32:5 which is a Psalm of David, David proclaims

I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.

It is interesting that David was supposed to be following the Mosaic Law and yet attributes direct confession to God and God’s forgiveness of his sins.

Nehemiah offers a long prayer of confession both personally and for the people of Israel in Nehemiah1:4-11

Daniel offers a long prayer of repentance and asking for mercy and forgiveness in Daniel 9 when the angel Gabriel shows up.

And while technically not a person, the Tax Collector in the Parable of the Tax Collector and Pharisee simply says “Lord, have mercy on me a sinner” and Jesus says it was he who went away Justified and not the Pharisee who was the religious leader.

Anyway, I just want to point out that there is precedence is scripture for praying directly to God for forgiveness and receiving forgiveness when sincerely crying out to God because of our sinfulness.
 
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ltwin said:
The church’s authority to remit and retain sin is declaratory.
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It sure is good to hear the declaration, though. In a Lutheran setting, something like: “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. “

I actually think that the power of the keys, the power to bind and loose, is more than just declaratory, however.
 
27lw said:
Are there Protestants who confess to their fellow Christians?
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Yes, in many non-Catholic circles people will confess sins to another Christian and even to the entire congregation (particularly if it is an elder, pastor, or other church leader who is doing the confessing).

Many churches encourage people to have an “accountability partner” which is someone whom you confide in and share your struggles with sin. The idea is that you can encourage each other in your struggles against sin.

Many people think non-Catholic Christians don’t confess. When actually we do, we just see confession as something we do directly to God for forgiveness and to each other for help and encouragement as we “bear each others burdens”.

Of course, we see salvation, that is the totality of the gifts of God, (forgiveness, justification, righteousness, eternal life and so forth) as being received by grace through faith. As I learned in my Southern Baptist new believer class many many years ago, we have been saved by grace through faith from past sins, we are being saved by grace through faith from current sins, and will be saved by grace through faith when we are glorified as we enter into eternal life.
 
27lw said:
What’s this though?
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You would confess to God through prayer. You could also confess it publicly as well, but if we’re talking about receiving forgiveness from God, confession would be through prayer.

[Edit: I think I might have misunderstood the question. I first read it as asking “What’s this through”"]
27lw said:
If you feel like it? Or in certain circumstances?
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It would be any time you realize you have sinned. Once you become aware of it, you need to confess and ask God for forgiveness.
 
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I’m glad the topic is generating discussion.

Does anyone know what the jewish faith’s take is on my original question?
Thanks
 
27lw said:
Okay but the Bible passage says to confess to your fellow Christians?
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Yes, that is one way we are told to confess, but it’s not the only way. In one of Jesus’ parables, a tax collector confesses to God in prayer, and Jesus says the man was justified.

And even if we were to take James 5:16 as commanding only confession to other Christians, there is no instruction that this be only to priests. It could just as well be to the entire congregation or to a lay person.

But the context of James 5:16 is discussing sickness and how the prayer of faith is effective. It could be that James is saying that we should confess our sins to our brothers and sisters in Christ so that they might intercede on our behalf in prayer for our healing. By confessing our sins to our fellow Christians, we remove what might hinder our healing.
 
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27lw said:
Are there Protestants who confess to their fellow Christians?
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Yes, but not for absolution (unless of course we have sinned against someone and are asking for forgiveness…don’t think this is the context), but for assistance or strengthening as in corporate goal of holiness for all.
 
mcq72 said:
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27lw:
Are there Protestants who confess to their fellow Christians?
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Yes, but not for absolution (unless of course we have sinned against someone and are asking for forgiveness…don’t think this is the context), but for assistance or strengthening as in corporate goal of holiness for all.
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Well, Lutherans to their pastor/confessor
 
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JonNC said:
Well, Lutherans to their pastor/confessor
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Point kindly taken, recalling now some of your posts stating such.

Do Lutherans consider the passage of " confess your faults/sins one to another" in such light?
 
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