Why can't I confess sins to a friend rather then a priest?

[Sublime_Prince]

Ok I have been studying the bible and now as a protestant I do believe in confession. In James we are commanded to confess our sins to one another.

However I do not understand why its necessary confess them to a priest? Wouldn’t it be more practical to confess our sins to those we have wronged or a close friend?

The priest can’t forgive you of your sins, no where in scripture does it say the priest has the power to forgive you of sins, only God can do that. So since knowing that it seems meaningless to confess to a priest rather than a friend or the person we sinned against.

I have been confessing my sins to those I have wronged and ever since I started doing this it has made a world of difference in my life, it makes me feel accountable for my actions and makes me less likely to sin in the future; I know now I will have to to come clean to whoever I decide to sin against in the future.

Confession is too anonymous for it to have any real use to people. The priest can’t see you and you aren’t necessarily confessing sins to him that you committed against him.

 

[wynd]

The priest can’t forgive you of your sins, no where in scripture does it say the priest has the power to forgive you of sins, only God can do that.

Just wanted to address this part quickly. Please read the following Scripture:

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” (John 20:21-23)

God the Father sent Our Lord to forgive sins. Now Our Lord sends the apostles to do the same thing – “As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.”

 

[Sublime_Prince]

Oh ok so why then does a priest have to forgive us of our sins then?

Why can’t we instead confess to the person we wronged or confess to a close friend and have them forgive us of our sins?

 

[Franciscan]

Ok I have been studying the bible and now as a protestant I do believe in confession. In James we are commanded to confess our sins to one another.

However I do not understand why its necessary confess them to a priest? Wouldn’t it be more practical to confess our sins to those we have wronged or a close friend?

The priest can’t forgive you of your sins, no where in scripture does it say the priest has the power to forgive you of sins, only God can do that. So since knowing that it seems meaningless to confess to a priest rather than a friend or the person we sinned against.

I have been confessing my sins to those I have wronged and ever since I started doing this it has made a world of difference in my life, it makes me feel accountable for my actions and makes me less likely to sin in the future; I know now I will have to to come clean to whoever I decide to sin against in the future.

Confession is too anonymous for it to have any real use to people. The priest can’t see you and you aren’t necessarily confessing sins to him that you committed against him.

The Bible says to confess your sins to one another but it only says the Apostles have the power to forgive with the power of Christ see Jn 20:23.
This power to forgive or retain forgiveness was the exclusive perogative of the Apostles.
How were they to excercise this power without a verbal confesion of sins directly to them or their successors? How does anyone else claim this authority?

Also when we sin it is not just a sin against the actual person we hurt. it is also a sin against the Body of Christ the Church and against God Himself. Both are represented mystically by the priest in confession.

So you have two problems…

1. Your friends have zero apostolic authority to forgive (absolve sin).
2. After you confess to your friends, You still need to reconcile with God and the Church to whom you belong as a member of a body through Baptism.

 

[Sublime_Prince]

Well I know about asking God for forgiveness too thats a given. This is something I started doing in addition to just prayer and asking for God’s forgiveness.

 

[Franciscan]

Well I know about asking God for forgiveness too thats a given. This is something I started doing in addition to just prayer and asking for God’s forgiveness.

But if you are One in Christ, as St. Paul says, “We are one body” then how do you reconcile with that body if you sin?

And…
Why did the Aostles receieve this grace and authority to forgive or retain forgiveness if we don’t need it?.

you have two problems…

1. Your friends have zero apostolic authority to forgive (absolve sin).
2. After you confess to your friends, You still need to reconcile with God **and the Church **to whom you belong as a member of a body through Baptism.
   __________In light of Jn 20:23 do you still believe, “The priest can’t forgive you of your sins, no where in scripture does it say the priest has the power to forgive you of sins, only God can do that. So since knowing that it seems meaningless to confess to a priest rather than a friend or the person we sinned against.” ?

---

 

[Pax]

In the book of Genesis we read all about the fall of Adam and Eve and about Cain killing Abel. While God knew exactly what had happened and what sins had been committed, God still asks Adam and Eve [see Gen 3:11-14] what they had done. Again, when Cain kills Abel in Gen 4:10, God asks Cain “What have you done?” God wants us to confess and it is therefore necessary for us to do so.

So where does the priest fit in? In Leviticus 5:5-6 we have a solid prefiguring/foreshadowing of confession and this is carried over into the New Covenant. In Lev. 5:5-6 it says, “When a man is guilty in any of these, he shall confess the sin he has committed, and he shall bring his guilt offering to the Lord for the sin which he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a goat, for a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin.” Note how the penitent must confess and take his sin offering to the priest, and the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin. This requires knowledge of the sin on the part of the priest.

In the New Testament we have a number of verses that refer to the authority to forgive sins. In Matthew 9:6-8, we read “But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins”–he then said to the paralytic --“Rise, take up your bed and go home.” And he rose and went home. When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men." Notice how scripture says that such authority had been given to men. This is significant and is not merely a coincidence. This is the inspired word of God.

The question of authority and power to forgive sin is given obviously to Jesus and this is further affirmed in Matthew 28:18 where we are told, "And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

So just how is this authority transfered to the apostles and their successors? In John 20:21-23 "Jesus said to them, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” This is an incredible set of verses. They are rich in meaning and power. Notice that Jesus sends the apostles in the same way that the Father sent Him. The Father sent Jesus with all power and authority which included the power to forgive sins. So also Jesus sends the apostles. Jesus breathes on the apostles and says, “receive the Holy Spirit.” There is only one other time in all of scripture where God breathes on man, and that is in Genesis when God breathes life into Adam. This is a significant moment in the upper room and it is at this moment that Jesus says, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven: if you retain the sins of any they are retained.”

Later in the new testament scriptures we find additional verses that speak to confession and reconciliation. The most significant are the following:

2 Corinthians 5: 17-20
Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

James 5:14-15
Is any among you sick? Let him call for the presbyters [priests] of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. (“presbyter” is the root word from which we get the term priest)

James 5:16
Therefore confess you sins to one another….

Matthew 18:18
Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (In Jewish culture and faith the power to bind and loose carries a juridical dimension and has application to the forgiveness of sin)

Much of what has been presented above is based on the work of apologist, John Martignoni.

Check out his wesite biblechristiansociety.com. He has a lot of really good stuff on MP3.

 

[Sublime_Prince]

ok I read Jn 20:23. Jesus said this to his disciples to forgive one another of each others sins. So you mean at that time only they had that power to forgive us of our sins. But this is really assuming too much. He didn’t say only my disciples can do this or only they had that power. I think he was referring to everyone. After all we are all considered disciples of Christ. At that time the disciples would ask each other to be forgiven for sins they committed against each other so it seems logical we should ask each other to be forgiven for the sins we commit.

 

[strngrnrth]

God gives people different jobs becuase doing everything would be more than we were designed for. I used to be part of a nondenominational church that had a heavy Penetecostal leaning. In it we tried to reinvent everything, including confession. It took several people just to cope with the emotional effect of hearing sins and they didn’t have to hear all of them and couldn’t forgive them. It’s stressful just to try. God wants to spare us the stress of doing everything for everyone so He made some people priests and some deacons and some to do other things. Priests organize their entire lives around staying remaining spiritually strong enough and praying enough to do what God has set them apart to do.

 

[thirdn6]

Oh ok so why then does a priest have to forgive us of our sins then?

Why can’t we instead confess to the person we wronged or confess to a close friend and have them forgive us of our sins?

How about people you might have wronged in the past, directly or indirectly, that you no longer have contact with? Say, some already died some have moved to a different country- will you follow them just to make a confession? Sin is a sin- we cannot enter heaven unless we are cleansed. I hope you’ve taken that into consideration.

 

[Franciscan]

ok I read Jn 20:23. Jesus said this to his disciples to forgive one another of each others sins. So you mean at that time only they had that power to forgive us of our sins. But this is really assuming too much. He didn’t say only my disciples can do this or only they had that power. I think he was referring to everyone. After all we are all considered disciples of Christ. At that time the disciples would ask each other to be forgiven for sins they committed against each other so it seems logical we should ask each other to be forgiven for the sins we commit.

Let’s be very clear what it says…

v22, "And when he said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit, v23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any they are retained."

Of course as Christians we are called to forgive when someone asks us. Example:The Lord’s prayer says forgive us as we forgive others. So we agree that forgiveness is within all of our power and duty.

But forgiveness on behalf of God and the Church… is the exclusive right of the Apostles and now their successors. Jesus wasn’t talking about general forgiveness he was empowering them to forgive in His Name. This is why He breathed on them and the added that they can retain forgiveness…

.When did he ever say Not to forgive? Something is different here …It is the power of the priesthood in Christ.

 

[BlestOne]

ok I read Jn 20:23. Jesus said this to his disciples to forgive one another of each others sins. So you mean at that time only they had that power to forgive us of our sins. But this is really assuming too much. He didn’t say only my disciples can do this or only they had that power. I think he was referring to everyone. After all we are all considered disciples of Christ. At that time the disciples would ask each other to be forgiven for sins they committed against each other so it seems logical we should ask each other to be forgiven for the sins we commit.

Reread the chapter for context… Jesus was talking to the disciples that he had just made apostles (disciples meaning “followers” and apostles meaning “sent forth” to teach) He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit”… he set them aside for a special purpose… to be sent forth and teach the Good News). This is NOT meant for all disciples… it is meant for apostles (those annointed to be sent forth…i.e. priests).

Trust me… sacramental confession is awesome… you can literally feel the grace of God and the peace in your heart.

 

[thirdn6]

Also, important thing to know, there is what the Church call “SEAL of Confession”. It means that the priest CANNOT tell anybody what you may have confessed. Of course, if it is so grave he’ll give you an advice.

Can you trust a friend concerning grave matters?

 

[Sublime_Prince]

But we are all priests of believers through Jesus (Rev. 1:6 ; 1 Peter 2:9)

So if we are all minor priests in some way then we should be able to have the power to forgive each other of sins and we can talk directly to God for forgiveness.

 

[Franciscan]

But we are all priests of believers through Jesus (Rev. 1:6 ; 1 Peter 2:9)

So if we are all minor priests in some way then we should be able to have the power to forgive each other of sins and we can talk directly to God for forgiveness.

Yes Catholics recognize the common priesthood of Baptism. We can ask nGod directly for forgiveness and we do. But the power to absolve sins through the sacrifice of Christ is reserved to the Apostles/priesthood.
In the old covenant we see the same pattern of common priesthood= The Israelites and Ordained priesthood = The Levites.

Sublime Prince This may be my last response because you aren’t reading my responses clearly enough to repond to my points. The others will take over.

 

[LilyM]

But we are all priests of believers through Jesus (Rev. 1:6 ; 1 Peter 2:9)

So if we are all minor priests in some way then we should be able to have the power to forgive each other of sins and we can talk directly to God for forgiveness.

Why should everyone be able to absolve (and more importantly retain) sins in God’s name? The retaining of sins in particular is a very serious thing - would you ever dare to tell another person that in the eyes of God their sins are not forgiven them? Yet clearly Christ intended some to have the authority to do so. It makes sense that it would only apply to those who have the power of binding and loosing heaven, in other words the Apostles.

Do we all each any every one of us, have the power or the right to conduct marriages, for example, before God for whoever we like? Or are those reserved to certain ministers only? Not all functions are for all people.

This one in particular seems to have been given to the Apostles only, we certainly can’t from the wording of scripture presume that it was for everyone.

 

[Techno2000]

Ok I have been studying the bible and now as a protestant I do believe in confession. In James we are commanded to confess our sins to one another.

However I do not understand why its necessary confess them to a priest? Wouldn’t it be more practical to confess our sins to those we have wronged or a close friend?

The priest can’t forgive you of your sins, no where in scripture does it say the priest has the power to forgive you of sins, only God can do that. So since knowing that it seems meaningless to confess to a priest rather than a friend or the person we sinned against.

I have been confessing my sins to those I have wronged and ever since I started doing this it has made a world of difference in my life, it makes me feel accountable for my actions and makes me less likely to sin in the future; I know now I will have to to come clean to whoever I decide to sin against in the future.

Confession is too anonymous for it to have any real use to people. The priest can’t see you and you aren’t necessarily confessing sins to him that you committed against him.

What if you killed somebody you can’t ask for their forgivness,
what about sins you do by yourself like, doing drugs,getting drunk
not going to church,etc,etc…

 

[MIZER]

Dear Sublime Prince,

I think it is very exciting that you are coming around to this truth of the Faith which Christ insituted for us all.

Let me give you a little background on myself and then if you will, I hope you will answer a question or two for me. Most of my siblings (we are all over 40) left the Catholic Church and became either Baptist, fundamentalist or both. So, all their children are also non-catholic and the one sister I have who remained Catholic, her children are also leaving the church for various reasons, as they become adults.

It is my belief that we all have the truth written on our hearts (I think there is a Bible verse to that effect but it is not important for my question) and I think that’s why non-catholics are drawn to certain aspects of Catholicism even though they either don’t want to admit it or they call it something else or they do something else that seems to fill that “need” which is innate within them (written on their hearts). To this end, my adult nephew, who was raised Baptist, decided to have himself re-baptised as a way of re-committing his life to Christ after spending some part of his young adulthood committing the sins that most young adults have a tendency to commit. To me this event seemed to replace the innate need we all have for the sacrament of confession (reconciliation). Everytime we go to confession, we re-commit our lives to Christ after having sinned.

My question to you is, after reading everything that has been posted to you so far on this thread, are you gaining any understanding? Is it making sense to you? Does the Biblical support offered for the foundation of our Catholic belief give you pause and cause you to think about it in a deeper, more contemplative way, or are you scrambling through your Bible or perhaps on the phone with your pastor trying to prove that what you believe is correct and the CC wrong?

I mean no disrespect to you, I am just curious as to the process a non-catholic goes through when they are shown a Biblical truth which they may not be ready or willing to embrace.

So far you seem to want to fight it and I guess that’s a natural response as you would be moved closer to a potential conversion to Catholicism if you were to realize, concretely, that The Church is right on any given point of faith. Does this prospect frighten you, make you nervous?

Does it give you pause that your particular church may be teaching something that is not true or maybe simply failing to teach what is true?

I’m sorry for all these questions. I have, for many years longed to sit and chat with non-Catholics and try and get some clarity on my many questions. All my siblings live far away from me, so we don’t have the opportunity to talk in person. Besides that, they won’t answer questions that will risk shedding light on their closely guarded beliefs, including the many misunderstandings they hold about the Church they have forsaken.

Because you have come to this understanding about the need for confession on your own, I thought you might be willing to answer some questions. If you will answer them, I would be most grateful.

May God Bless you and keep you ever searching for that one truth of His Gospel.

 

[ralphinal]

Imagine that one day you are at a party. You run into the 18 year old daughter of a close friend. One thing leads to another and you two end up having sex. Now, are you going to confess this sin to your friend?

What if it was his wife?

 

[mdgspencer]

People should sometimes ask the person they have offended to forgive them. That is important in a marriage for example.
But confessing your sins to someone is a different matter. Lets say we confess all our serious sins to someone, just as a Catholic must to a priest, and in fact we do this regularly to the same or to a different person, just as Catholics do to priests. Sometimes that person will go out and repeat what you said to others, sometimes because they gossip, and sometimes because they believe that they have good reason, good reason to, for example, tell a husband or wife of their spouses’ infidelities, a parent of a teenagers moral problems, or a friend in order to have advice about what he has heard. Do you think a person ought to open himself to such things?
If a priest on the other hand tells someone what they heard in confession, they are automatically excommunicated from the Church and will always besides this fact immense disgust in all the faithful.