Forgivness

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Permalink Reply by AAG Netguy on January 26, 2008 at 11:09am

Mandy,

Thanks for this most interesting forum post and for being here on TheNET! Welcome!

I don't usually do this, but I'm going to post an answer verbatim from a sister organization's website. I couldn't write it better if I tried, so here goes. It is a bit lengthy, but good.

Question: "What does the Bible say about confession of sin to a priest?"

Answer: The concept of confession of sin to a priest is nowhere taught in Scripture. First, the New Testament does not teach that there are to be priests in the New Covenant. Instead, the New Testament teaches that all believers are priests. 1 Peter 2:5-9 describes believers as a “holy priesthood” and a “royal priesthood.” Revelation 1:6 and 5:10 both describe believers as “a kingdom and priests.”

In the Old Covenant, the faithful had to approach God through the priests. The priests were mediators between the people and God. The priests offered sacrifices to God on behalf of the people. That is no longer necessary. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we can now approach God’s throne with boldness (Hebrews 4:16). The temple veil tearing in two at Jesus’ death was symbolic of the dividing wall between God and humanity being destroyed. We can approach God directly, ourselves, without the use of a human mediator. Why? Because Jesus Christ is our great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-15; 10:21), and the only mediator between us and God (1 Timothy 2:15). The New Testament teaches that there are to be elders (1 Timothy 3), deacons (1 Timothy 3), bishops (Titus 1:6-9), and pastors (Ephesians 4:11) – but not priests.

When it comes to confession of sin, believers are told in 1 John 1:9 to confess their sins to God. God is faithful and just to forgive our sins as we confess them to Him. James 5:16 speaks of confessing our trespasses “to one another,” but this is not the same as confessing sins to a priest as the Roman Catholic Church teaches. Priests / church leaders are nowhere mentioned in the context of James 5:16. Further, James 5:16 does not link forgiveness of sins with the confession of sins “to one another.”

The Roman Catholic Church bases their practice of confession to a priest primarily on Catholic tradition. Catholic do point to John 20:23, “If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." From this verse, Catholics claim that God gave the apostles the authority to forgive sins, and that authority was passed on to the successors of the apostles, e.g. the bishops and priests of the Roman Catholic Church. There are several problems with this interpretation.

(1) John 20:23 nowhere mentions confession of sin.

(2) John 20:23 nowhere promises, or even hints, that the authority to forgive sins would be passed on to the successors of the apostles. Jesus’ promise was specifically directed to the apostles.

(3) The New Testament nowhere states that the apostles would even have successors to their apostolic authority. Similarly, Catholics point to Matthew 16:19 and 18:18 (binding and loosing) as evidence for the Catholic Church’s authority to forgive sins. The same three above points apply equally to these Scriptures.

Again, the concept of confession of sin to a priest is nowhere taught in Scripture. We are to confess our sins to God (1 John 1:9). As New Covenant believers, we do not need mediators between us and God. We can go to God directly because of Jesus’ sacrifice for us. 1 Timothy 2:5, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”

Recommended Resource: The Gospel According to Rome: Comparing confession sin priest and The Word of God by James McCarthy.

Taken from http://www.gotquestions.org/confession-sin-priest.html

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Permalink Reply by Mandy on January 26, 2008 at 11:58am

Thank you for your reply and all your research into this, it is well appreciated. I think I knew this in my heart. My daughters where also upset by what was said; so I will share this with them and show them the scripture. God Bless you and your family and thank you for your friendship. Mandy

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Permalink Reply by AAG Netguy on January 26, 2008 at 3:16pm

You're welcome, Mandy. I'm glad you found it helpful. Thanks for being here!

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Permalink Reply by journeyman on February 12, 2008 at 1:14pm

Mandy;
I am Catholic and I have some problems with some of the things the Catholic Church believes to be a firm rule. I go to Church regularly but my confession is with God. I have been told I "should go to confession" but I have confessed too my Lord with all my heart and begged forgiveness. Christ died for our sins. We are not perfect so we continue to sin. But, our debt was paid by Jesus. We are to grow in Jesus. Jesus loves us for who we are but he wants us to become mature as Chrisrtians. The Catholic Church is my church family. It wouldn't be the first time I disagreed with a member of my family. But, I won't abandon them or make them wrong. We can work together. Love each other and I don't think anyone who believes in Jesus Christ as savior and redeemer will be forsaken.
May God Bless you;
journeymanhd913

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Permalink Reply by Mandy on February 12, 2008 at 4:08pm

Thank you for that wonderful insight journeymanhd. God Bless. Mandy

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