Post by Sheila on Mar 27, 2024 15:36:00 GMT -5
Throughout the Bible there are chapters and verses about confessing our sins to God. In the Old Testament books, confession took place at the temple. People were to appear before the priest, confess their sins, and have an animal sacrificed. A sacrifice is no longer needed because Jesus died on the cross as the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of the world. So who do we confess our sins to now? Do we have to confess all our sins to a priest? Some denominations say we do, while others say we don't. It doesn't matter what a particular denomination teaches. What matters is what the Bible teaches.
The Catholic church is the main denomination that claims sinners must confess to a priest. In answer to the question about why the confession is made to a priest, the typical answer is that doing so is "the method for forgiveness that Jesus Himself established during His earthly ministry". To answer the same basic question, worded a different way, of why do people have to confess to a mere man, the answer is "By confessing our sins to Jesus' minister, His personal representative, we are confessing to God through His priest whom He commissioned for this very purpose". [1] However, unless I missed something, no verse I could find in the New Testament mentions confession to a priest. Those words were never spoken or even, within the given context of the verses, implied by Jesus. It seems that, unless a lot assumptions and church traditions are thrown into the mix, there's no way to come up with these answers.
Although not directly mentioning confession or priests, there are at least two verses that can be interpreted to mean there's no reason not to make the confession of sins directly to God through Christ. When Jesus died, the curtain in the temple was torn in two (Luke 23:45). The curtain was used to separate the Holy of Holies from the remainder of the temple. Only the high priest could enter this area. The tearing of the curtain means there's no longer a need to have a high priest, or any priest, approach God for us. We now have direct access. 1 Timothy 2:5 states, "For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus". If we don't go directly to God, we can confess directly to Jesus - who was really "commissioned" for the purpose - who then takes it to God. There's no human priest, pastor, or other clergyman involved.
1. "Why Do Catholics Confess to a Priest"; Good Catholic web site; Genevieve Netherton
* All quotes are from the New International Version of the Bible.
The Catholic church is the main denomination that claims sinners must confess to a priest. In answer to the question about why the confession is made to a priest, the typical answer is that doing so is "the method for forgiveness that Jesus Himself established during His earthly ministry". To answer the same basic question, worded a different way, of why do people have to confess to a mere man, the answer is "By confessing our sins to Jesus' minister, His personal representative, we are confessing to God through His priest whom He commissioned for this very purpose". [1] However, unless I missed something, no verse I could find in the New Testament mentions confession to a priest. Those words were never spoken or even, within the given context of the verses, implied by Jesus. It seems that, unless a lot assumptions and church traditions are thrown into the mix, there's no way to come up with these answers.
Although not directly mentioning confession or priests, there are at least two verses that can be interpreted to mean there's no reason not to make the confession of sins directly to God through Christ. When Jesus died, the curtain in the temple was torn in two (Luke 23:45). The curtain was used to separate the Holy of Holies from the remainder of the temple. Only the high priest could enter this area. The tearing of the curtain means there's no longer a need to have a high priest, or any priest, approach God for us. We now have direct access. 1 Timothy 2:5 states, "For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus". If we don't go directly to God, we can confess directly to Jesus - who was really "commissioned" for the purpose - who then takes it to God. There's no human priest, pastor, or other clergyman involved.
Also with no mention of a member of the clergy being present is the statement made in 1 John 1:9. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." There are verses about confessing sins to other people such as "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other" (James 5:16). Again, no priest is mentioned. If we sin against someone else, we should admit it to the person and, if possible, make restitution for any harm done to them. They may or may not forgive us, but we should still confess. Then we take our sins to God through Christ.
If a Christian wants to confess to a priest, there are no verses in the Bible that prohibit the action. If someone feels more comfortable doing so and more confident a prayer from a priest will be heard by God better, by all means, confess to a priest. However, if you want to take your confession straight to God, then do it that way. The intention of this post is to show Christians are to confess their sins and that it's not necessary to give that confession to a church leader.
1. "Why Do Catholics Confess to a Priest"; Good Catholic web site; Genevieve Netherton
* All quotes are from the New International Version of the Bible.
Copyright © 2024 by Sheila Rae Myers