Who Do I Confess My Sins To?

1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sin, then God is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness".

This Scripture implies that we confess our sins to God, and it is not necessary to confess them to anyone else, because no one is faithful and just like God to totally forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The problem with confessing sin to others, is that the confession can be used the wrong way, and published in areas where we would not wish them to be. I was in a church where people went to the elders for counselling, and the elders went home and told their wives, and the problems came out publicly in the church prayer meetings. This was a total breach of confidentiality.

I don't confess my sins to anyone but God, because He is the one who forgives and forgets and buries my sins in the deepest sea of His forgetfulness and puts up a sign "No Fishing". If I confess my sins to anyone else, there is no guarantee that they will forget them, and this would not be to my advantage or benefit. I confess my sins to the Person who is able to forgive.

I would never confess my sins to a priest, because nowhere in Scripture does it support that a man acting as a priest has the god-given right to forgive sins. Even the Jewish leaders said about Jesus when He forgave the paralytic his sins, "Who but God can forgive sins?" So, a priest giving absolution has not value to God at all, and it is nonsense for a priest to declare a person forgiven, when that person has never and never will repent of that sin in his or her heart. Only God knows the hearts, and knows that when we confess our sins to Him and our heart is in it, He knows that He can forgive and forget our sin because we have genuinely repented of it and is willing to forsake it.

Also, I am not a fan of these people who publicly "testify" of their past sinful life and how they were on drugs, went to prostitutes, committed crimes, to great details before they came to Christ. How can they relate all this if they have genuinely repented, confessed to God and God having forgiven, forgotten, and buried their sinful life in the deepest sea of His forgetfulness. Are they not grieving the Holy Spirit by dredging up their past sins? Is not that an insult to God? I think that there is an element of pride in the fact that they were great sinners and God did them a great favour by saving them!

There are things in my past that I am not proud of, but I know that God has forgotten about them. If they came back to mind, I treat the memories as the devil bringing them up to shame me and to corrupt my faith in the forgiveness of God.

Mungo said:

But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, take up your bed and go home.” And he rose and went home. When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men. (Mt 9:4-8)

And Jesus said to the apostles:
"Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” (Jn 20:22-23)

Just previously he had said to them:
“Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.”

Jesus was sent with the power and authority to forgive and retain sins (see Mt 9:4-8 above).

Jesus was sent with the power and authority to pass on this power and authority to forgive and retain sins.

He passed on this power and authority to forgive and retain sins to specific individuals - the Apostles (see Jn 20:22-23 above)

He also sent them in the same manner God the Father sent Him (see Jn 20:21 above), which means he passed on his power and authority to pass on his power and authority . .

So the Apostles not only received the power and authority to forgive and retain sins, they also received the power and authority to pass this on to others.

And they did . . and those they passed it on to passed it on to others, and those others passed it on to others, and those others passed it on to others. . and so forth through the centuries and millennia and still those others have the authority and power to forgive and retain sins and to pass that authority onto others.

They are called Bishops and priests.

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The only person who can forgive my sins is the person who has never sinned, and therefore is not a sinner like me or anyone else.

Brakelite2 said:

I would add, that not only is there only One Who can forgive sin, but only that one can give the power and Spirit to overcome it.

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I don't think that a bishop or a priest can forgive sins of other people if he has sins in himself that need forgiveness. The Scripture says "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God", including bishops and priests.

Mungo said:

How about answering the points I made - backed up by scripture - rather than just giving us your opinion.

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"All have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).
"There is none righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3:10).

One sinful person cannot forgive another sinful person. Only a person totally without sin can forgive a sinful person.