the point of confession

jjrpickens

Ok here is my question what is the point of confession to your sins to another man who is a sinner too>I understand talkin with a priest about problems and askin for prayer.But my thing is why use a middle man when you can go to jesus and the father and lay you sins down at his feet and ask for forgiveness and just cut out the middle man for the priest can not forgive you onley jesus can.Also where in the bible does it say to confess to a priest.Not tryin to offend just want to understand.thanks and god bless. :)

mtanious32

Well this is what I learned in Sunday School, we as humans need an interceder on our behalf for God to forgive us and the cloest interceder to God on earth is a Clergy memeber i hope that helps

Marianne87

Confession to a priest is a sacrement given by Christ to his disciples...and since the clergy men are the disciples of Christ now...they are the one who can intercede for us...
"Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." John 20:21-23
"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." James 5:16

The role of the priest isn't to forgive us our sins...only God can do that...so it's not about him forgiving us..it's about the priest is the image of Christ on earth...but he is still a human.

Unknown

Here is a good article that explains the sacrament of confession in the coptic orthodox church...but it's a little long.

http://www.copticchurch.net/topics/thecopticchurch/sacraments/3_repentance_confesstion.html

jjrpickens

I just spoke with my fiance and i was confusing the confession with catholic confession which i dont really agree with i too sit down and talk with a priest or precher and tell him about sins and pray with him that i understand but i dont believe in askin another man and i quote forgive me father referring to the priest i have sinned .He cant forgive me fornothin onley jesus and the father can right ????

WMA

My friend told me the Priest himself doesn't forgive you but that he confirms the forgiveness from God.

bible does it say to confess to a priest.

My friend said James 5:13-16 kind of explains why we should confess:

13Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

LifeinChrist

[quote author=Marianne87 link=board=1;threadid=3842;start=0#msg54253 date=1147056048]
Confession to a priest is a sacrement given by Christ to his disciples...and since the clergy men are the disciples of Christ now...they are the one who can intercede for us...
"Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." John 20:21-23
"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." James 5:16

The role of the priest isn't to forgive us our sins...only God can do that...so it's not about him forgiving us..it's about the priest is the image of Christ on earth...but he is still a human.



I would like to say that priests were the "desendents" of the apostles so when Jesus says "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." John 20:21-23 that is passed on from generation to generation. everyone confesses and when they are forgiven it is th confermation of God's forgiveness... hopes that makes sence.

jjrpickens

tHANKS EVERYONE IM EXSPANDING MY RELIGION DAILY AND LEARNING MORE AND MORE ABOUT THINGS I DONT UNDERSTANDGOD BLESS YOU ALL

Unknown

[quote author=trusting in god link=board=1;threadid=3842;start=0#msg54250 date=1147053339]
Ok here is my question what is the point of confession to your sins to another man who is a sinner too>I understand talkin with a priest about problems and askin for prayer.But my thing is why use a middle man when you can go to jesus and the father and lay you sins down at his feet and ask for forgiveness and just cut out the middle man for the priest can not forgive you onley jesus can.Also where in the bible does it say to confess to a priest.Not tryin to offend just want to understand.thanks and god bless. :)


Al Masih Kam!

The sacrament of confession can be found in the book James.

The main reason behind it is that we expose our sinfulness to others. We often, through our pride, try to hide our sins from others to make us look more pious than we are.

The sacrament of confession makes this impossible and forces us to confront who we really are and, in all humility, reveal our true selves to another person.

This is why the Orthodox Church has always done confession face to face, and not behind a screen like in the Catholic Church, which takes away the whole point of the sacrament, since the priest has no idea who he is talking to.

In the very early Church, people would stand up in front of the congregation and confess their sins to everyone, but as the Church grew this became impossible and so it became normal to confess to a priest who acted as a representative of the Church.