Church confessions - good or bad thing?

[another_poster]

 

But God only forgives~~~

So why are we instructed to forgive someone if they sin against us then if only God forgives?

[another_poster]

I believe that the justification for confession in both Catholic and Orthodox churches comes from James 5:16

 

Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

 

I just wanted to know what everybody else thinks. I'm not sure if confessing anything to a priest actually solves anything, but if it helps to make it easier for you to confess to God then is there any problem with it? Do you think that the practise of confession can be misused or abused or is there a place for it in other churches?

I don't really have much of an opinion myself, I'm kind of in two minds about it which is really why I am asking the question.

is it required? No I don't believe it is. Is it helpful to confess to another person? Personally I believe it is. This means I have a good friend who will help me to not commit that sin again. It could be a gentle word when getting frustrated which if not given could result in that frustration turning into sin. We are designed to live in community and help one another. I think that is all it is about. Why the priest? Well it is their job to be available basically. Over time I think it has developed into a requirement in those denominations but with people being so busy it is good to have a person who is available almost always.

[appy]

So why are we instructed to forgive someone if they sin against us then if only God forgives?

 

 

 

 

We are told to do so, because our heavenly Father first forgave us.

 

Mathew 18 tells the story of a man who falls to his knees asking for mercy, his master has compassion on the man and cancels his debt. For some reason the servant forgets all that, when a fellow servant owes him a debt. And demands that the fellow servant pay up instead of forgiving the debt owed. The master calls him aside and says...”see here, I forgave you a tremendous debt you owed me, simply because you asked. Should you not have also forgiven the fellow servant”?

 

Mathew 6 :14

For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

 

As for the doctrine that is practiced by priests. I find fault with it. And reject it. Because when a person goes into the confession booth, and confesses. The priest takes it upon himself to do a job that does not rightfully belong to him. He is not capable of removing sins and cleansing a person of all unrighteousness. Only God can do that. God the father has declared his son to be the one who is the mediator between us and God. Why go to a priest, when the bible tells us that we can go directly to God when we sin and ask him to forgive us and cleanse us of all unrighteousness  

[gdemoss]

All I have is my experience, strength and hope to share with those who suffer from the effects of sin which is a fault or short coming in my character. I have found that confession of my sin, faults, shortcomings or character defects if you will unto another human being before God is very freeing. Upon doing such I experienced great relief because my sin separates me from the sunlight of the Spirit and my fellows. It is my plain experience that I am only as sick as my secrets. That said, I had to be discreet about with whom I would share my confession of faults unto. I do not have the right to seek relief at the expense of another who may be negatively affected by them. And it needed to be someone who understood the priesthood of the believers role in intercessory prayer as Elijah.

Now this is all a moot point if I don't come to a place of true repentance where I want to be changed and humbly approach the throne of grace seeking favor without excuse. After all my relationship is with God Through Christ. Not only this but I need be willing to make restitution for harms done as an act of sincerity for my request to be absolved.

In the end, I need turn with my whole heart to serving God and do only those things he commands of me. I need die to myself and live unto him yet I can't do anything without him, even confession requires his aid for I am only able to come to him because he made a way.

All glory be unto God.

[Pamelasv]

Somewhere it says to carry one another's burdens, so that means they are making the load lighter for you, so telling others can definitely benefit, but not just anybody, someone you trust or feel led to.

[kwikphilly]

Blessings Oak.....

     This has been really twisted by particular denominations & it is a tradition set in place by man,I do not want to speak out against the RCC as a whole & I cannot ,I am sure there are many Saved Catholics so I do not want anyone to get the wrong impression by what I say......

       As a young girl I was taught & raised with Catholicism,,,,,the problem is that the they teach that it is a SIN not to make confession,they call "confession " a sacrament & perform a ritual for "the First Confession"........without having "confession" you are not allowed to partake in the next sacrament ,which is Holy Communion.............these things are not in line with the Scriptures,they are traditions & customs....

       If someone wants to "confess" their sins to the priest or reverend and that helps ease their burden of guilt then it can be a good thing but by the priest giving you 10 "Hail Mary's" to recite to absolve the sin then we might as well sacrifice a young ,male,goat,,,,,,,,,this has nothing to do with James 5:16,,,,,,,,and has been greatly perverted.Being given prayers to recite is the same as "works",can we pay for our sins or have our sins already been paid for by Jesus taking our place?

    Shiloh has already explained that our "faults" are not our "sin",,,,,,,,,and"confession" is not a noun,it is a verb,,,,,,,,,,we "confess" or "admit" or "tell" each other our shortcomings ,we pray and encourage one another,,,,,,,we help each other to draw closer to God,live better,love better.....in Christ,,,,

      Firstly,we have only ONE Father,,,,,,& it is HE Who is our Heavenly Father,there is only One Who has the Power to forgive our sin,,,,,,we forgive one another(those who trespass against us) but we cannot forgive sin..............if a sinner(a stranger) came to me & asked forgiveness for hurting someone & from stealing a car,could I forgive him?Of course not..............can anyone but Jesus?of course not

     To God be the Glory.........                                        With love-in Christ,Kwik

[Guest shiloh357]

It should be pointed out that we are to forgive others for something they do to us in the sense that we don't hold it against them.   But when we speak of God's forgiveness, we are talking about complete absolution of someone of their sin.   We cannot and have not been given the authority to forgive "sin."    We forgive offenses against us.  But God forgives sin and that's a big difference.

 

There is no priest on earth that an offer absolution and for them to claim that they can is blasphemous.

[another_poster]

 

So why are we instructed to forgive someone if they sin against us then if only God forgives?

 

 

 

 

We are told to do so, because our heavenly Father first forgave us.

 

Mathew 18 tells the story of a man who falls to his knees asking for mercy, his master has compassion on the man and cancels his debt. For some reason the servant forgets all that, when a fellow servant owes him a debt. And demands that the fellow servant pay up instead of forgiving the debt owed. The master calls him aside and says...”see here, I forgave you a tremendous debt you owed me, simply because you asked. Should you not have also forgiven the fellow servant”?

 

Mathew 6 :14

For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

 

As for the doctrine that is practiced by priests. I find fault with it. And reject it. Because when a person goes into the confession booth, and confesses. The priest takes it upon himself to do a job that does not rightfully belong to him. He is not capable of removing sins and cleansing a person of all unrighteousness. Only God can do that. God the father has declared his son to be the one who is the mediator between us and God. Why go to a priest, when the bible tells us that we can go directly to God when we sin and ask him to forgive us and cleanse us of all unrighteousness  

 

Hi GA,

good to see you again after having several chats in the chat room.

 

I understand the story of Mathew 18. My question was in response to another person saying only God can forgive. Well if that is the case we should not be instructed to forgive people if we can not forgive. 

 

I agree we can go directly to God. We should. Once a friend after a conversation we had asked if I wanted him to pray for me. I said no because I need to learn to go to God rather than asking someone else to go speak to God for me. Of course he prayed for me as we went our separate ways (saying that based on me knowing his character rather than actual concrete evidence). So I agree it is important we go to God. There are benefits to sharing with a trusted fellow believer here on earth. Sometimes I kn ow something is a sin but the thought of having to one day give an account to God is not enough to stop me from doing it. If however I have shared with a friend then I know that next time they see me they will ask me how I'm going and it helps me to stop before I sin. Over time I find it becomes easier and easier to avoid the sin without a friend checking up on me because I have practised. Sometimes just getting that start is difficult. So no it is not required but it certainly has its benefits.

[another_poster]

It should be pointed out that we are to forgive others for something they do to us in the sense that we don't hold it against them.   But when we speak of God's forgiveness, we are talking about complete absolution of someone of their sin.   We cannot and have not been given the authority to forgive "sin."    We forgive offenses against us.  But God forgives sin and that's a big difference.

 

There is no priest on earth that an offer absolution and for them to claim that they can is blasphemous.

Care to comment on the gospels and how what you have said fits in with that? Jesus tells the disciples whatever you bind will be bound and whatever you loose will be loosed and if you forgive sins they will be forgiven. Does seem like he does give that authority to the disciples. In context that passage does not appear to be talking about a sin against the disciples.

[Guest shiloh357]

Yes, the authority He gave to the disciples was the right to legislate and judiciate for the Messianic community that they will lead after Jesus is gone.   The words "bind" and "loose"  refer to something akin to rabbinic authority and are better expressed as "permit" and "forbid."   It basically applies to setting internal disputes in the community as opposed to settling them in front of a local, secular magistrate.

 

He is not giving them the power to absolve sin.   That right belongs to God an God alone.