Why Confess Your Sins to a Priest? | Made For Glory

Why Confess Your Sins to a Priest? Isn't Christ the only mediator between man and God?

Watch this episode of Made for Glory as Father Michael talks about Confession.

[ֆքǟռ-mg]

Hebrews 4:15-16 New International Version (NIV)

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

[jmwashko]

I’m in RCIA currently and you have been a huge resource for me. Thank you! Hoping to have my first confession this spring.

[domdelosreyes]

Who are the priests?

“John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and “PRIESTS” to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭1:4-6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

To whom was it addressed to?
7 churches which are in Asia

“To Him who loves us”
To whom was John pertaining to? = (believers)

“And washed us from our sins in His own blood”
Who were washed from sins with His own blood?
= believers

Who are the priests? “Believers”

So confess to one another(see James 5:16)

Love you Bros and Sis ❤️❤️❤️

[Sasori.OfTheRedSand]

So is it a must ?

I’m a muslim . Much love ❤️

[r.broyles]

Michael brought up a very good point about dealing with reconciliation. You can find his reference to this on the video progress bar at 0.49 sec. Let's begin there:


"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world (the human race) to Himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. For God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." [2 Corinthians 5:17-21]


Michael claims that this ministry of reconciliation was only given to the leadership of the church. He gets this from verse 18: "God...has given us the ministry of reconciliation." The question is who is "us"? To answer this we need to look to who the letter is addressed: "To the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Achaia". (2 Corinthians 1:1) So Paul is writing this letter to the church at large; not just to the leadership. But, that's a minor point. The church still needs leadership.


Now what is "this ministry of reconciliation" - is it the forgiveness of sins? 2 Corinthians 5:19 answers this question: "God was reconciling the world (the human race) to Himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them."

You see "in Christ" we are "a new creature". Some translations say "new creation". So "in Christ" (the 2nd Adam) we have a sinless, glorified humanity that stands blameless and perfect before God and His holy law. "In Christ" you have more than just the forgiveness of sins - you have an immortal humanity free from indwelling sin. Through proclaiming the gospel the church proclaims the forgiveness of sin.


Now let's go to Michael’s second reference found in John 20:21-23


"Jesus said to them again, 'peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you (i.e., the disciples).' And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’”


Is Jesus giving the disciples permission to forgiven personal sins made by believers after receiving Christ? No! Here Jesus is sending the disciples out to preach the gospel to unbelievers. If these unbelievers accept Christ by faith they then receive the forgiveness of sins.


We can see this in Acts 3:19 where Peter says, "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out". Through the proclamation of the gospel sinners may have their sins blotted through faith in Christ. Those who accept the gospel have their sins forgiven them; those who reject the gospel have them retained.


What about personal sins made after conversion? The Bible is clear on this: "If we (context: believers) walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin." (1 John 1:7)

If continue to walk in the light of the gospel, after receiving Christ, His life laid down in death (i.e., His blood) cleanses us from all sin. The question is what we do when we knowingly sin - do we go to a human priest? No, not according to the Scriptures: "If we confess our sins, He who is faithful and just (Jesus, the believers' High Priest) will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)


I submit to you - the believer - you don't have to go to a human priest to have your personal sins forgiven. You only need to repent to your High Priest who is in the heavenly sanctuary.

[atlas]

Im confused... When we receive the holy Ghost and become born again, HIS spirit dwells WITHIN us, and he lives in us..thus HIS authority is IN US... . When we sin, we confess our sins in prayer, and we know we are forgiven because the one who created laws to teach us sin and the same one who died for our sins IS IN US. Anyone can go confess a sin to a priest....flesh(a physical person) confessing to flesh (another physical person) ....true repentance comes only from the heart.... but a priest CANNOT SEE the heart of another person....ONLY THE one who dwells inside you can.

[stevedavies]

Confessing to a priest is a cop- out of a true confession. It was made private by the church to avoid the shame that is attached to public confession. The church desired this to hide the sins of the clergy; and therefore became a tradition in the Catholic Church. The protestants have rejected any public confession, confessing to GOD in private prayer: which must be worse than secretly confessing to a priest. There are no confessions like these in the Bible!

[ֆքǟռ-mg]

The concept of mortal sin and its consequences as defined by the Roman Catholic Church has the powerful ability to enslave the repentant sinner to the dictates of the Church. When the Catholic Church presents no clear-cut definition of mortal sin, a person is totally in the hands of the priest in order to define the severity of his sin and his penance, as well as his pardon.

The Bible simply says, “The wages of sin is death'”(Romans 6:23). In this verse Paul was not speaking of any particular kind of sin, but of all sin. Ezekiel says, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die” (18:4). When James said, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (2:10), he did not mean that the person who commits only one sin is guilty of all other kinds of sin, but that even one sin shuts a person out of heaven. The gates of heaven have been shut to us because of our sin. The Bible says, “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Since the fall of Adam humanity has been alienated from God and is in desperate need of a Savior.

We are all guilty of mortal sin. It has separated us from God and we are hopeless in our condition. There is no human means for removing the guilt of our sins. No institution of man or individual can grant us eternal life. This is why Jesus Christ came into this world, lived a sinless life and then gave His life willingly as a ransomfor all the sins of those whotrust on Him alone. “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (II Corinthians 5:21).

The very fact that you recognize that you are a mortal sinner is a sign that the Holy Spirit of God is convicting you. Your salvation does not rest upon your confession of your sins. Your salvation rests solely upon Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross of Calvary. Call out to Him to save you in the name of Jesus Christ, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). Salvation is given directly and graciously, that no one may glory in God’s presence. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise” (Psalm 51:17).

[ֆքǟռ-mg]

1 Timothy 2:5
“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;”

King James Version (KJV)

[ֆքǟռ-mg]

The false Jesus of Roman Catholicism.
Practically all precepts of the Roman Catholic religion contradict the Bible repeatedly. In this article, we are going to examine a few Roman Catholic doctrines and compare them with the Authorized Version of 1611 of the Bible. The Roman Catholic church is the largest cult in the world and most preachers will not openly say so because it is so large.
For Catholics who read this--if you will only believe the holy scriptures--the Bible (Authorized Version of 1611)--and nothing else, you can be released from deception today. Just look at the scriptures and compare them to the precepts of Rome. You will not be the first person to read the scriptures clearly and then be saved by REPENTING of your sins and BELIEVING on the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ who shed his blood ONE TIME to pay for our sins that we have committed. He died to completely pay for our sins and he rose again for our justification (ref. Romans 4:25). You will not get to heaven by your own works and by following the rules and regulations of a (supposedly) religious organization--the Roman Catholic institution--which is founded on heresies and blasphemies. When we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and read his word, we love him and he helps us to serve him and walk uprightly and understand what we need to know. Salvation is a free gift (reference Romans 5:15-16, 17)--no paying for "masses" (the "mass" is a horrendous blasphemy), "indulgences", etc. No "penance", crawling on your knees, purgatory (there is no purgatory, it is not in the Bible), etc. The Lord Jesus Christ died ONE time to purchase our eternal salvation. All that we have to do is REPENT of our sins, BELIEVE that he died for our sins, was buried and rose again on the third day, and we must also OBEY his word (his commandments are not grievous, reference I John 5:13). In the Roman Catholic church, it seems that the rich man has a better chance in the afterworld (according to her own false doctrine), because he can pay to have the masses performed to relieve himself of time in "purgatory" (which does not exist, but everlasting hellfire does). But in the Bible, we read on this wise, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! and, It is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. (Luke 18:24-25). Purgatory is a money maker. The historic sale of indulgences is a money maker. People's souls and purses have been farmed for the devil for centuries on end, "Peter's pence", statue idols, and on and on it goes--and it was done in the name of "Christianity".
The following is excerpted from The Martyrs of Jesus--
The Roman Catholic Church is not Christian; her precepts contradict the Bible repeatedly. Nowadays, it can be heard that the Roman Catholic Church gave us the Bible--but she actually burned Bibles and them that translated and believed the Bible (witness William Tyndale, a good and a great man). Rome is full of heresies (e.g., Mary remained a virgin) and blasphemies (e.g., the mass--many died for not believing this). She has killed multitudes of Christians. She has maintained her blasphemous reign as the so-called "church" by force and deception--not by the truth of the Bible (which she publicly railed against). The Bible reveals who Rome is and is therefore dangerous to her. Why is she posing as the Christian church? False religion is a money maker. Her doctrines/teachings have enabled her to collect wealth, delicacies, adoration, and power for centuries on end. Her doctrines are made up stories consisting of various elements and superstitions and pasted together with some Bible names. Even one of her popes said that the Roman Catholic false Christ (her transubstantiatable "victim, ") is a made up fable. When the Roman Catholic "Church" speaks of Christ, it is speaking of its own invention, not the true Christ. That is why her doctrines are diametrically opposed to the Bible, they have been made up over centuries of time. One can find dates when various heresies have been added to the pot (infallibility of the pope, assumption of Mary, etc.). The Bible speaks of people who preach "another Jesus" (2 Corinthians 11:4)--and Rome is in that category.
"Every age knows how useful this fable of Christ has been to us and ours*...8"
8 Fa de Christo fabula. Mornaei Hist. Papatus, p. 820.
Statement attributed to Pope Leo X who was speaking to his secretary Bembo.
(excerpted from History of the Reformation of the Sixteenth Century, Volume 1, Books 1-4
by J.H. Merle D'Aubigne, Legacy Publications edition, p. 51)
*(Rome's doctrines are heresies, lies, blasphemies, and fables--deadly dangerous fables; 
these fables are actually destroying people's souls, FOREVER.
"PURGATORY" IS ACTUALLY HELL--HELL IS NO TEMPORARY PLACE OF PURGING, IT IS JUST HELL. 
Those that love their own souls need to turn from the Roman Catholic fables and start listening to the word of God. 
The word of the Lord is right and all his works are done in truth. There is no purgatory, just heaven and hell. 
There is no "seven channels of grace." The only thing that God accepts is faith in the blood of Jesus which was shed to pay for our sins. 
The word "purgatory" and the concept of purgatory are just part of the money-making Roman Catholic fable system--
to get out of "purgatory" people have to keep on paying for masses even after a person is D-E-A-D.
Former Jesuit, Dr. Alberto Rivera, said that whole fortunes have been left to Rome so that masses could be said--not leaving money to the family, 
LEAVING THE MONEY TO ROME TO PAY FOR MASSES TO GET THEIR SOULS OUT OF PURGATORY.
Pope Leo X (quoted above) now knows that whatever little worldly gains and lusts he got were not worth it.)



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