20/05/2022
CONFESSION THROUGH THE PRIEST AND WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS
WERE PRIEST COMMISSIONED TO HEAR CONFESSION?
YES!
Questioning the Authority of a Priest in forgiveness process of sin
Is same as questioning the healing ministry of a medical doctor, issues like don't he sick? Does not prevent him from healing someone, the same applies to a priest, been a mere human he does sin, yes but remember God and man still respect the prayers of kings, Leaders and priest. By the virtue of their office.
Heb 10:23 ..Lets hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful;
PRIESTS DON'T FORGIVE SINS, BUT ANYBODY THEY APPROVES(ENDORCES) HIS/HER SIN, GOD WILL FORGIVE THE PERSON
By virtue of their office, just as we respect/obeys Military Man because of his uniform, not him as a person
John 20:21-23 ...As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.’ 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; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’..
In Matt. 16:19 Jesus said I will give the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and Whatever you bind on earth is bind and loosed on earth is loose. He also repeated it in Matt. 18.18 Just as when a president is elected in an office, whether you senior him, or you are more saint than him, you must respect his office, what ever he approves goes for the country
WHY CONFESSING TO PRIEST: When all Pardon comes from Christ’s finished work on Calvary as in Hebrew 10:10\n!
Heb 10:14.. ..For by a single offering He(Christ) has perfected for all time those who ARE SANCTIFIED THIS VERSE WAS TALKING ABOUT THOSE WHO ARE SANCTIFIED AND ITS THROUGH REPENTANCE ETC THAT ONE CAN BE SANCTIFIED PERIOD! So this SANCTIFICATION through confession etc is what people seems to forget, thinking that Christ death has done everything for them to go and sin!.
Catholics never said that it is a sin to confess to God directly. But why then do they confess to priest?
In John20:21 Jesus said to his disciples,...'who ever you forgive,they are forgiven;and soever you retain, they are retained.
Just as a girl child born in a hotel, will never see *__going out half naked, or prostituting as a sin and will never confess it even if she is compel to do so!__*, unless she encounter Christian moral values(from someone in the faith), so also it is to any one, who sins and confesses directly, but through priest(who stands for Christ..see John 20:21 below), he may give you penance(need be)or advice, and with this, the guilt of your sin will be removed as in...Isaiah 6:7... he said to the paralytic, Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven ...Matt. 9:2,5, Luke 5:20,23; Luke 7:48, 1John 2:12
But when you confesses alone, who will tell you ... the priceless word..*my child your sins are forgiven and/or the right penance?* remember Christ and His Disciples did assure people of been forgiven, but this you have to depend on your sinned and unsure conscience!. During His life, Christ forgave sins, as in the case of the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1–11) and the woman who anointed his feet (Luke 7:48). He exercised this power(being physically present!) in his human
capacity as the Messiah or Son of man, telling us, ..*the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins..* (Matt. 9:6), God ..*had given such authority to men..* (Matt. 9:8).
(John 20:21–23) ...As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.’ 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; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’.. This is one of only two times we are told that God breathed on man, the other being in Genesis 2:7, when he made man a living soul. It emphasizes how important the establishment John also recorded this Authority when Christ has breathed on them, and said to them,*Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained!* some people may argue that its only between Christ and His disciple, but i tell you such Authority has been given to Priest and Lay faithful
in James 5:14-15 ..*the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven!, and therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another people claims that when you proclaim *Lord Jesus, come into my live ....etc* that believing that, that's all that is required to gain your salvation. I tell you, you are been deceived!.
Rather, Jesus teaches us to pray to God as in Matt. 6:12 ...* And forgive us our Sins, as we also have forgiven those who sin against us. The only Known means by which our sins can be forgiving are by
--Baptism, .. preaching a Baptism of Repentance for the forgiveness of (original)sins ..Mark 1:4, Luke. 3:3 Note, the True Christian Baptism is done once and for all; Ephesians 4:5...*one Lord, One Faith, One Baptism* which is an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
--Confession and
--penance(Charity) or reconciliation of our Sins.:.. *2 Corinthians 5:18*
1 John 1:9 ...* If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness *
This sacrament is rooted in the mission God gave to Christ in his capacity as the Son of man on earth to go and forgive sins (cf. Matt. 9:6) . Thus, the crowds who witnessed this new power ..*glorified God, who had given such authority to men..* (Matt. 9:8; note the plural ..*men..*).
After his resurrection, Jesus passed on his mission to forgive sins to his ministers, telling them, ..*As the Father has sent me, even so I send you. . . . Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained..* (John 20:21–23).
And ..*..whoever . . . eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord..*.. - 1 Cor. 11:27-.
The Advantages of Confessing To a Priest: When all Pardon comes from Christ’s finished work on Calvary! remember Christ ordered the apostles to, ..*..Go therefore and make disciples of all nations (through Baptism)...
*.. It would take much time. And he promised them assistance: ..*..Lo, I am with you always, till the end of time..*.. -Matt. 28:19–20-.
..through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him every one that believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses..*.. -Acts 13:38–39-
the answer is: The Grace is for anybody, but to receive this Grace, one has to do the right thing! which the Bible gave us, two major means They are:
--Baptism (First fold ) was given to take away the sin inherited from Adam -original sin- and any sins we personally committed before baptism—sins we personally commit are called actual sins, because they come from our own acts.
He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned’..*.. in my Name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues- -Mark 16:15–17-.
-- Confession (Second fold) Note that the power Christ gave the apostles was twofold: to forgive sins or to hold them bound, which means to retain them unforgiving. Several things follow from this.
First,
the apostles could not know what sins to forgive and what not to forgive unless they were first told the sins by the sinner. They must hear your confession first before they can forgive any.
Second, their authority was not merely to proclaim that God had already forgiven sins or that he would forgive sins if there were proper repentance. Such interpretations don’t account for the distinction between forgiving and retaining—nor do they account for the importance given to the utterance.
in John 20:21–23. If God has already forgiven all of a man’s sins, or will forgive them all -past and future- upon a single act of repentance, then it makes little sense to tell the apostles they have been given the power to .. *..retain..*.. sins, since forgiveness would be all-or- nothing and nothing could be *..retained...* ....
The Advantages Of Confessing To A Priest
Is the Catholic who confesses his sins to God through a priest any better off than the a Catholic who confesses directly to God?
Yes.
First, he seeks forgiveness the way Christ intended.
Second, by confessing to a priest, the Catholic learns a lesson in humility, which is avoided when one confesses only through private prayer.
Third, the Catholic receives sacramental graces the other doesn’t get; through the sacrament of penance sins are forgiven and graces are obtained.
Fourth, the Catholic is assured that his sins are forgiven; he does not have to rely on a subjective ..*..feeling...*.. Lastly, the Catholic can also obtain sound advice on avoiding sin in the future
