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Confessing sin?


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On 3/4/2019 at 7:53 AM, nigh said:

I tend to notice myself sinning almost constantly. This may be because I am overscrupulous--that is true in some areas, but it seems like a lot of these things I'm noticing really are sin. But this means I get worn out trying to confess sin. Do I need to confess these sins immediately, or can I wait until I have some quiet time to myself? What if I forget a sin?

There is a point where believers can become almost pathological about sinning.

I think of Francis of Asisi where his priest told him to stop coming to confession until he had a sin actually worth confessing.

Part of it (I think) comes from overestimating human decency... our own decency... or that ever present desire to try to do something to please God or

(whether or not we realize it) earn or keep our salvation.

None of the above is real.

God knows you far better than you know yourself. He knows what rotters we are.

God loves us more than we can realize for loving his Son and believing in him (John 16:27).

That opens us up to God's Grace: his remedy for our fallen nature and situation.

Please read the following in one sitting:

1 John 1:5–2:18 (AV)
5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins*, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ← [[ Greek tense for forgiveness is imperfect meaning already forgiving ]]
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
7 Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.
8 Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.
9 He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
11 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
12 I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake.
13 I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.
14 I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.
15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

God's forgiveness is absolute and total in eternity. We are subject to the consequences of our sins in this life / world no doubt. And we can knock ourselves out of alignment with our eternal  forgiveness which is not about changing IT at all but rather our association with it... more or less whether or not we actually [feel] saved... which confession TO THE LORD (see Psalm 51 below) restores us to by facing our sin and aligning ourselves with God that it is sin. He already knows all and doesn't need us to confess something he's not aware of. That's silly. Even when we don't confess our sins we are still just as forgiven as we were before we committed them. We are just miserable until we do.

Anything less than this would have put getting saved and staying saved in our own incapable hands and we would all be lost.

* Psalm 51:4 (AV)
4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

 

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James does say confess your sins one to another... but this IMHO is a general term admitting we are not sinless, we are but humble sinners who only have God's grace

on our side.

Also... in this life on this world... coming clean to someone we victimized by our sins can restore relationships or make us feel better about ourselves.

I recommend it highly.  It will help us get through this life easier (even if it costs us dearly at the moment).

A heavy conscience is hard to live with and why (IMHO) there are so many nutty people in the world. They are running from themselves or the truth.

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On 3/4/2019 at 5:53 AM, nigh said:

I tend to notice myself sinning almost constantly. This may be because I am overscrupulous--that is true in some areas, but it seems like a lot of these things I'm noticing really are sin. But this means I get worn out trying to confess sin. Do I need to confess these sins immediately, or can I wait until I have some quiet time to myself? What if I forget a sin?

I was a bit confused who you are confessing your sins to. If you are a Catholic, I guess you're supposed to confess then to a priest. But I suspect you are just talking about confessing them to the Lord.

The object is to repent of our sin - stop sinning. If we do that, then we no longer have to confess anything to the Lord.

I wonder, though, if you are "overscrupulous" (using your word). It's difficult enough, I think, obeying the Lord's commandments without adding our own.

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On 3/4/2019 at 8:53 AM, nigh said:

I tend to notice myself sinning almost constantly. This may be because I am overscrupulous--that is true in some areas, but it seems like a lot of these things I'm noticing really are sin. But this means I get worn out trying to confess sin. Do I need to confess these sins immediately, or can I wait until I have some quiet time to myself? What if I forget a sin?

God and nobody else is, or should be, expecting a countdown from beginning to end or even anywhere so specifically all the time to forgive you of your sin. We are easily forgetful about both the things we hate and love. Why would they need to hear it specifically? To find you worthy of being forgiven, to see if you went too far, or if what you have done is unforgivable, or perhaps they just don't want to, or they feel like you aren't honest if you don't say specifically what you are sorry for? That isn't at all how God forgives and we definitely should not either.

 

But rather we are to forgive and love as the Lord has loved and forgiven us, the Church. I think it would be more helpful for yourself to repent ASAP and do it specifically, that is just my opinion and advice, when i repent like that, it does take more effect for some reason to make me care more, take it more seriously, it feel like a bigger deal to me the moment it just happened rather than waiting hours or days later to repent for it, it really clears the air and brings peace, or else I feel like I am just running from God ignoring what I have done wrong. Could you imagine someone treating you badly and not apologizing immediately rather than much later on? That doesn't mean you won't be forgiven, but I think it makes a difference in our lives how we will live and feel and view our sin, even help us in our relationship with Christ.

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On 3/4/2019 at 5:53 AM, nigh said:

I tend to notice myself sinning almost constantly. This may be because I am overscrupulous--that is true in some areas, but it seems like a lot of these things I'm noticing really are sin. But this means I get worn out trying to confess sin. Do I need to confess these sins immediately, or can I wait until I have some quiet time to myself? What if I forget a sin?

Confess your sins once daily and ask for forgiveness. We should try our best to not intentionally sin. Although we will still not be perfect. 

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Kay Arthur made an interesting point on this topic.

To confess in the Greek (homo logeo sp?) means to come along side.

To agree with God what he already knows all about what we did and that it was wrong / sin / evil.

Forgiveness in the text (I'm rusty about Greek tenses) is in the imperfect meaning perpetual state

of something (God is faithful and just to already forgive, forgave, and ever shall forgive)... loosely

translated.

So the point of it all is to face the fact, admit it, get back in touch with the Grace God is still giving us,

and hopefully not repeat the same sin... but we do we do, don't we?

Feelings of guilt, feeling lost, beyond forgiveness... these are lies of the devil.

Lies we are exposed to when we lose touch with the Grace we already have and will always have.

Not God's doing. Ours.

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On 3/4/2019 at 1:53 PM, nigh said:

I tend to notice myself sinning almost constantly. This may be because I am overscrupulous--that is true in some areas, but it seems like a lot of these things I'm noticing really are sin. But this means I get worn out trying to confess sin. Do I need to confess these sins immediately, or can I wait until I have some quiet time to myself? What if I forget a sin?

The heart is what matters most, the willingness and obedience to sin is a problem. Always confess your sins for the sake of your spiritual growth. 

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