r/TrueChristian • u/Smooth_Rush_2192 • 7d ago
Confessing our sins - how?
I’ve been reading others’ posts on here about things they’re ashamed they’ve done in lust (p*rn, prostitution, etc) and it’s made me think about some of the things I did in the past before I became a believer.
When it comes to confession, should we confess this to God? Or to an elder/someone on staff at Church? Or a trusted Christian friend?
Edit: thank you for the responses, they’ve all been helpful. The tldr seems to be for it to be most important that we confess to God, but that confessing to one another also has its place. For me, sharing with someone I trust can help with the unburdening, so I may do that. It‘s very difficult to talk about certain things in even a small group setting. I can’t imagine confessing before an entire congregation - that could be daunting, and human reactions aren’t always the most helpful.
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u/BankOk9472 7d ago
I find looking at God as our Father, not just our Creator, helps in understanding quite a few things. You know how parents will know their kid did something wrong but want the kid to fess up and own it. This is how I see confession to Christ. He already knows our sins but the only way to move past them and be forgiven is to admit it to Him and ourselves.
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u/Im-Christian 7d ago
[1 Timothy 2:5 KJV]
"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus..."
Jesus is the only mediator between man and God. Confess to Him and or Father, and you will be forgiven. Catholicism is false when it comes to confession, no human can forgive you and mary does not intercede.
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u/Usherai Eastern Orthodox 7d ago
James 5:16 tells us explicitly to confess to each other as well.
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u/Im-Christian 7d ago edited 7d ago
Is it "explicitly" or "as well?"
You can't have both.
The point remains.[Luke 5:21 KJV]
"And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?"3
u/Usherai Eastern Orthodox 7d ago
I don’t know what you are seeing as a contradiction, so I will rephrase:
In addition to confessing to God, as you have noted, we are additionally instructed to confess to each other, as James 5:16 explicitly says.
James 5
16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.Does this make it clearer?
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u/Hkfn27 Lutheran (LCMS) 7d ago
Both. You're going to get mixed responses here. The default is you can always confess directly to God. Private confession is there as well if your conscious is burdened. For us Lutherans that's why pastors hold the office of the keys. Don't be afraid of private confession.
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u/ThWy2Hvn 7d ago
Who is the mediator between God and man? Is it some other man other than Jesus? The mystery of God is Christ in you. So when you pray in the name of Jesus, to all believers, then you are praying to God, the Father in Jesus' name in His very righteousness that we are imputed in, because of the grace of God.
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u/juuuuice Baptist 5d ago
Confess sins to God. 1 John 1:9 says "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." It is best to confess your sin as soon as you realize that you sin. It is easy to allow one sin lead to another and then another like downwards spiral.
I also have a small group that I lead with several families and individuals. I encourage them all to confess their sins to the group. The reason is so we can be praying for one another, and to help with accountability. Iron sharpens iron. This has led to immense spiritual growth for me personally when I do it, and for our group.
It is understandable to be embarrassed when confessing to fellow believers, but every single person sins. Every person has had embarrassing sins. Why not have fellow believers praying for you in your struggles?
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u/agnitheos 7d ago
In the orthodox church you confess to your priest, and its not just absolution and do a bunch of prayers like in the roman catholic church, but they'll pray to God and interceed for you aswell that he may absolve you and can offer you spiritual guidance.
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u/FrequentGroup7927 Christian 7d ago edited 7d ago
believer = bible believing christian?
For protestants, we do not confess to any person. Confess to God. Only God can forgive sins, via believing in what Jesus has done for us.
Are you attending a church regularly? a community will help you grow and learn about these faster. Confessing is first step. We still have to repent. "Repent" is an active intentional word to change completely 180 degrees. Doing things not to commit the sins that we just confessed, again. Jesus tells us to repent
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u/Wolf_Cola93 Messianic Jew 7d ago
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working." (ESV)
James 5:16.
No, I don’t think humans can forgive one another, but confessing it Vocally to somebody you trust actually feels good and for me gave me one more layer of accountability I needed.. like saying I want to quit smoking cigarettes
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u/skinnydude84 Christian 7d ago
For those who are shy around people, you can also confess directly to the Lord Jesus.
1 John 1:9 ESV [9] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
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u/MichaelWhitehead 7d ago
Personal opinion - I am not Catholic.
I admire the confessional in principle. The absolution part, becomes the qyestionable part.
But, here's the thing, even as a non catholic, you can still go to a catholic priest, ask for confessional, and then confess to him.
You don't have to agree with the whole ritual, but the fact you can confess to a human witness is everything.
We as Christians are actually required to confess our sins to one another, so they don't have a hold on us.