The original question was not aimed at who can forgive sin, but rather who the sins are confessed to. The examples given in scripture are examples of confessing to other humans (although God ultimately does the forgiving through them). So your answer is still incorrect. You are focusing on who can ultimately forgive sins, not who the sins are being confessed to, which is the initial question at hand.
@grok@DavidFischer The original question asks for Bible verses that mention confessing sins to someone other than Jesus and the thread I gave you lists multiple examples in scripture, yet you said there were none. So your answer was incorrect.
๐ช๐ต๐ถ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ถ๐ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฝ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น - ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ณ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐น๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ณ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ ๐๐ผ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐๐? ๐คทโโ๏ธ
*๐๐ฆ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ค๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, ๐ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ'๐ด ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ด ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ฐ. ๐๐ข๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐ช๐ต'๐ด ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ช๐ค๐ต๐ญ๐บ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐๐ค๐ณ๐ช๐ฑ๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ข๐ญ.
I decided to make a post on this subject because I have been asked many times, โWhy canโt we just confess our sins directly to God to have them forgiven?โ or โWhy do Catholics confess to priests instead of directly to God?โ
๐ช๐ฒ๐น๐น, ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฏ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น? ๐ค
You may have heard it said that the New Testament is hidden in the Old and the Old is revealed in the New. Many people would like to just focus on the New Testament, but the New Testament itself says, โALL scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness.โ (2 Timothy 3:16) So we donโt disregard the Old Testament. We look to see how it is revealed in the New.
That being said, letโs look at Leviticus 5:5-6. It says, โWhen a man is guilty of any of these (the sins listed before this verse), he shall confess the sins he has committed, and he shall bring his guilt offering (a sacrifice) to the Lord for the sin which he has committedโฆ and the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin.โ So what do we see there? We see that people had to confess their sins to be forgiven and that they didn't go straight to God, but confessed to a priest, and there had to be a guilt offering (a sacrifice).
You may be saying, โBut hey, thatโs the Old Testament. What about the New Testament? We arenโt bound by the Old Testament anymoreโ and Iโd agree with you, but as I already mentioned, โALL scripture (both Old and New) is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness.โ So letโs look to the New now, shall we?
Hebrews 10:1 tells us, โThe law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities.โ We are being told here that the Old foreshadowed the New. The Old gave us a clue and an outline of the equivalent New Testament practices.
Donโt believe me? Keep reading and Iโm confident you will.
1 John 1:9 tells us that, โIf we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.โ Okay, so we see here in the New Testament that God will forgive us if we confess our sins, ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฒ๐๐ปโ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ถ๐บ. He just says that we need to confess our sins. He does; however, very clearly tell us to whom we need to confess our sins, which I highlight below.
*I think itโs important to note at this point, before going any further, that ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฝ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐น ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ณ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐น๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ถ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ถ๐บ ๐ฎ๐น๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ. Believe me, I looked. Itโs not there. When I was Protestant I was told that's what we needed to do, so I REALLY wanted it to be there, but itโs not. Itโs unbiblical, as there is no Scriptural evidence of Him telling us to only to confess to Him and Him alone. Some people may feel like I did when I realized this and get upset with it, but it's just a Scriptural fact and one I had to accept.
Now, back to specificsโฆ Scripture IS more specific as to whom we need to confess our sins. Looking at James 5:16 youโll see that the Word of God commands us to confess our sins to โeach other.โ This is not a suggestion, but a clear command to confess our sins to each other, not to God or God alone. You may be thinking at this point, โOkay, but each other is to anyone, not to a priest.โ ***Remember this verse toward the end of this post. (1/3)
๐ช๐ต๐ถ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ถ๐ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฝ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น - ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ณ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐น๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ณ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ ๐๐ผ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐๐? ๐คทโโ๏ธ
*๐๐ฆ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ค๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, ๐ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ'๐ด ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ด ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ฐ. ๐๐ข๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐ช๐ต'๐ด ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ช๐ค๐ต๐ญ๐บ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐๐ค๐ณ๐ช๐ฑ๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ข๐ญ.
I decided to make a post on this subject because I have been asked many times, โWhy canโt we just confess our sins directly to God to have them forgiven?โ or โWhy do Catholics confess to priests instead of directly to God?โ
๐ช๐ฒ๐น๐น, ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฏ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น? ๐ค
You may have heard it said that the New Testament is hidden in the Old and the Old is revealed in the New. Many people would like to just focus on the New Testament, but the New Testament itself says, โALL scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness.โ (2 Timothy 3:16) So we donโt disregard the Old Testament. We look to see how it is revealed in the New.
That being said, letโs look at Leviticus 5:5-6. It says, โWhen a man is guilty of any of these (the sins listed before this verse), he shall confess the sins he has committed, and he shall bring his guilt offering (a sacrifice) to the Lord for the sin which he has committedโฆ and the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin.โ So what do we see there? We see that people had to confess their sins to be forgiven and that they didn't go straight to God, but confessed to a priest, and there had to be a guilt offering (a sacrifice).
You may be saying, โBut hey, thatโs the Old Testament. What about the New Testament? We arenโt bound by the Old Testament anymoreโ and Iโd agree with you, but as I already mentioned, โALL scripture (both Old and New) is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness.โ So letโs look to the New now, shall we?
Hebrews 10:1 tells us, โThe law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities.โ We are being told here that the Old foreshadowed the New. The Old gave us a clue and an outline of the equivalent New Testament practices.
Donโt believe me? Keep reading and Iโm confident you will.
1 John 1:9 tells us that, โIf we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.โ Okay, so we see here in the New Testament that God will forgive us if we confess our sins, ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฒ๐๐ปโ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ถ๐บ. He just says that we need to confess our sins. He does; however, very clearly tell us to whom we need to confess our sins, which I highlight below.
*I think itโs important to note at this point, before going any further, that ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฝ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐น ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ณ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐น๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ถ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ถ๐บ ๐ฎ๐น๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ. Believe me, I looked. Itโs not there. When I was Protestant I was told that's what we needed to do, so I REALLY wanted it to be there, but itโs not. Itโs unbiblical, as there is no Scriptural evidence of Him telling us to only to confess to Him and Him alone. Some people may feel like I did when I realized this and get upset with it, but it's just a Scriptural fact and one I had to accept.
Now, back to specificsโฆ Scripture IS more specific as to whom we need to confess our sins. Looking at James 5:16 youโll see that the Word of God commands us to confess our sins to โeach other.โ This is not a suggestion, but a clear command to confess our sins to each other, not to God or God alone. You may be thinking at this point, โOkay, but each other is to anyone, not to a priest.โ ***Remember this verse toward the end of this post. (1/3)
๐ช๐ต๐ถ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ถ๐ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฝ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น - ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ณ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐น๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ณ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ ๐๐ผ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐๐? ๐คทโโ๏ธ
*๐๐ฆ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ค๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, ๐ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ'๐ด ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ด ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ฐ. ๐๐ข๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐ช๐ต'๐ด ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ช๐ค๐ต๐ญ๐บ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐๐ค๐ณ๐ช๐ฑ๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ข๐ญ.
I decided to make a post on this subject because I have been asked many times, โWhy canโt we just confess our sins directly to God to have them forgiven?โ or โWhy do Catholics confess to priests instead of directly to God?โ
๐ช๐ฒ๐น๐น, ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฏ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น? ๐ค
You may have heard it said that the New Testament is hidden in the Old and the Old is revealed in the New. Many people would like to just focus on the New Testament, but the New Testament itself says, โALL scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness.โ (2 Timothy 3:16) So we donโt disregard the Old Testament. We look to see how it is revealed in the New.
That being said, letโs look at Leviticus 5:5-6. It says, โWhen a man is guilty of any of these (the sins listed before this verse), he shall confess the sins he has committed, and he shall bring his guilt offering (a sacrifice) to the Lord for the sin which he has committedโฆ and the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin.โ So what do we see there? We see that people had to confess their sins to be forgiven and that they didn't go straight to God, but confessed to a priest, and there had to be a guilt offering (a sacrifice).
You may be saying, โBut hey, thatโs the Old Testament. What about the New Testament? We arenโt bound by the Old Testament anymoreโ and Iโd agree with you, but as I already mentioned, โALL scripture (both Old and New) is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness.โ So letโs look to the New now, shall we?
Hebrews 10:1 tells us, โThe law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities.โ We are being told here that the Old foreshadowed the New. The Old gave us a clue and an outline of the equivalent New Testament practices.
Donโt believe me? Keep reading and Iโm confident you will.
1 John 1:9 tells us that, โIf we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.โ Okay, so we see here in the New Testament that God will forgive us if we confess our sins, ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฒ๐๐ปโ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ถ๐บ. He just says that we need to confess our sins. He does; however, very clearly tell us to whom we need to confess our sins, which I highlight below.
*I think itโs important to note at this point, before going any further, that ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฝ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐น ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ณ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐น๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ถ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ถ๐บ ๐ฎ๐น๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ. Believe me, I looked. Itโs not there. When I was Protestant I was told that's what we needed to do, so I REALLY wanted it to be there, but itโs not. Itโs unbiblical, as there is no Scriptural evidence of Him telling us to only to confess to Him and Him alone. Some people may feel like I did when I realized this and get upset with it, but it's just a Scriptural fact and one I had to accept.
Now, back to specificsโฆ Scripture IS more specific as to whom we need to confess our sins. Looking at James 5:16 youโll see that the Word of God commands us to confess our sins to โeach other.โ This is not a suggestion, but a clear command to confess our sins to each other, not to God or God alone. You may be thinking at this point, โOkay, but each other is to anyone, not to a priest.โ ***Remember this verse toward the end of this post. (1/3)
Confessing our sins to men is something God setup, not man. Just as God can give His power to man to heal someone physically, He can do the same spiritually. To say otherwise would be putting limits on God. Letโs not forget either that Jesus sent His disciples out to heal people both physically and spiritually by exorcising demons.
๐ค๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ธ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐:
1. Why would Jesus give the apostles the authority to forgive sins if He didnโt expect people to confess their sins to them?
2. Why would God foreshadow confessing sins to a priest in the Old Testament if He didnโt want us to do the same in the New?
3. Why would James make note that they called the โeldersโ FIRST before telling them to confess to each other if the priests werenโt necessary?
4. Why would the Catholic Church include these passages in Scripture when they compiled the Bible hundreds of years later if they werenโt the practices being used at the time?
*Side note, did you catch that it says in Matthew 9:6 that โHe will forgive our sinsโ and in John 20 He gave the apostles the authority to forgive sins, and in James 5 we are told to confess our sins? Hereโs why I ask that: Many claim that when Jesus died on the cross their sins are forgiven now and in the future automatically and thereโs nothing else they need to do. If that were so, why would Scripture tell us that we need to confess our sins to be forgiven? Why would Jesus give the apostles the authority to forgive sin if He was going to do everything that needed to be done on the cross. ๐๐โ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐พ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ข๐น๐ฑ ๐ง๐ฒ๐๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐. ๐ช๐ฒ ๐๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ (๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ณ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐๐) ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ด๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ป. That was the Scriptural interpretation of those who walked with the Apostles, which will be clear if you read the church fathers.
๐ฆ๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐โ๐ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฝ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น - ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ณ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐น๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐๐?
Well, if youโre keeping a tally, thereโs an example of confessing to priests in the Old Testament (Leviticus), two in the New (James and John), and zero examples of God telling us to confess our sins to Him and Him alone for forgiveness in all of Scripture. There's only one Old Testament Scripture of someone confessing directly to God for forgiveness (Psalm 32:5). So according to Scripture, there are more examples of confessing to a priest than to God and God alone and, therefore, confessing to a priest isnโt just more biblical, but God telling us to "confess to Him and Him alone" is completely unbiblical as there's no Scriptural evidence for it.
So if God gave us a system to have our sins forgiven by confessing them to a priest and confessing directly to "God and God alone" is a man-made belief, wouldn't it be wise to use the system God gave us?
*Final note, we didnโt have the Bible for hundreds of years after Jesus was crucified and it wasnโt until Johannes Gutenberg (a Catholic) made the printing press in 1450 that the Bible began to be mass produced. So what did the early Christians do before they had a Bible? ๐ค For that you have to look at tradition, which Paul told us to โhold fast to whether by word of mouth or by letter.โ (2 Thessalonians 2:15) This is why everyone should read the church fathers and the Didache (the first Catechism or manual for the Christian faith). When you do, youโll realize that what the Catholic Church practices today is what the earliest Christians practiced as well. (3/3)
๐ช๐ต๐ถ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ถ๐ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฝ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น - ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ณ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐น๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ณ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ ๐๐ผ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐๐? ๐คทโโ๏ธ
*๐๐ฆ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ค๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, ๐ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ'๐ด ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ด ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ฐ. ๐๐ข๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐ช๐ต'๐ด ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ช๐ค๐ต๐ญ๐บ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐๐ค๐ณ๐ช๐ฑ๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ข๐ญ.
I decided to make a post on this subject because I have been asked many times, โWhy canโt we just confess our sins directly to God to have them forgiven?โ or โWhy do Catholics confess to priests instead of directly to God?โ
๐ช๐ฒ๐น๐น, ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฏ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น? ๐ค
You may have heard it said that the New Testament is hidden in the Old and the Old is revealed in the New. Many people would like to just focus on the New Testament, but the New Testament itself says, โALL scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness.โ (2 Timothy 3:16) So we donโt disregard the Old Testament. We look to see how it is revealed in the New.
That being said, letโs look at Leviticus 5:5-6. It says, โWhen a man is guilty of any of these (the sins listed before this verse), he shall confess the sins he has committed, and he shall bring his guilt offering (a sacrifice) to the Lord for the sin which he has committedโฆ and the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin.โ So what do we see there? We see that people had to confess their sins to be forgiven and that they didn't go straight to God, but confessed to a priest, and there had to be a guilt offering (a sacrifice).
You may be saying, โBut hey, thatโs the Old Testament. What about the New Testament? We arenโt bound by the Old Testament anymoreโ and Iโd agree with you, but as I already mentioned, โALL scripture (both Old and New) is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness.โ So letโs look to the New now, shall we?
Hebrews 10:1 tells us, โThe law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities.โ We are being told here that the Old foreshadowed the New. The Old gave us a clue and an outline of the equivalent New Testament practices.
Donโt believe me? Keep reading and Iโm confident you will.
1 John 1:9 tells us that, โIf we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.โ Okay, so we see here in the New Testament that God will forgive us if we confess our sins, ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฒ๐๐ปโ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ถ๐บ. He just says that we need to confess our sins. He does; however, very clearly tell us to whom we need to confess our sins, which I highlight below.
*I think itโs important to note at this point, before going any further, that ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฝ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐น ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ณ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐น๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ถ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ถ๐บ ๐ฎ๐น๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ. Believe me, I looked. Itโs not there. When I was Protestant I was told that's what we needed to do, so I REALLY wanted it to be there, but itโs not. Itโs unbiblical, as there is no Scriptural evidence of Him telling us to only to confess to Him and Him alone. Some people may feel like I did when I realized this and get upset with it, but it's just a Scriptural fact and one I had to accept.
Now, back to specificsโฆ Scripture IS more specific as to whom we need to confess our sins. Looking at James 5:16 youโll see that the Word of God commands us to confess our sins to โeach other.โ This is not a suggestion, but a clear command to confess our sins to each other, not to God or God alone. You may be thinking at this point, โOkay, but each other is to anyone, not to a priest.โ ***Remember this verse toward the end of this post. (1/3)
Now, do we just go around confessing our sins to just anyone? No, of course not. Why? Because everyone doesn't have the authority to forgive sins. ๐ฆ๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ๐ปโ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐น ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐ผ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ด๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ณ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ? ๐ช๐ฒ๐น๐น, ๐๐ฒ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฑ.
โWHOA! Wait a minute James, are you claiming that men can forgive sins?โ Yes, I am. This is the MAJOR stumbling block for people, but itโs one that I can easily help you over. Watch this...
Turn to Matthew 9 (the story of the healing of the paralytic). Jesus tells the man that his sins are forgiven then the scribes immediately call Him a blasphemer. Then what happens? Jesus then shows them that their understanding of Godโs power is a limited one. In verse 6 He tells them, โBut that you may know that the Son of Man has the authority to forgive sins.โ Then in verse 8 it says that the crowds were struck with awe and glorified God who had given such authority to a man. Wait, no. Thatโs not what it says. It says that He gave authority to men. Plural. In some translations it says โhuman beings.โ
Should you have any doubts about that, look at John 20:21-23 - Jesus said to them again, โPeace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you. And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, โReceive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.โ
Look closely at verse 21: โAs the Father has sent me, so I send you.โ How did the Father send Jesus? Well, we saw in Matthew 9:6 that He sent Him to forgive sins. So the Father sent Jesus to forgive sins; so Jesus sent His apostles. Just in case someone didnโt understand Him in verse 21, He clarifies in verse 23 (whoeverโs sins you forgive are forgiven, and those you retain are retained). We see similar authority given to the apostles in Matthew 18:18 and 16:18-19.
Now stop here and ask yourself, why would Jesus give His apostles (the first priests of the New Testament) the authority to forgive sins if He didnโt expect people to confess their sins to them for them to forgive? ๐ค ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒโ๐ ๐ป๐ผ ๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐ด๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ต๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐ป๐น๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐๐ผ.
Can it get more clearer than that? Yes, it actually can. Earlier I referenced James 5:16 (the verse I told you to remember), but look two verses prior to verse 14. Who were they told to call before they were told to confess? The elders! Who are the elders? Theyโre the priests and bishops of the early church.
So just like in the Old Testament system God setup, we see in the New Testament that we are to confess our sins, not to God, but to men. We see who we are to confess them to as well (those who have the authority to forgive sins on earth). But what about the sacrifice in the Old Testament? Arenโt we missing what that foreshadowed? Nopeโฆ the New Testament sacrifice was Jesusโs sacrificial death on the cross.
So yes, you can absolutely confess your sins to God, but the system which God clearly setup all the way back in the Old Testament and again in the New for the forgiveness of our sins involves confessing our sins to those who have the authority to forgive sins on earth (priests). You can also confess your sins to your friends, but your friends werenโt given the authority to forgive sins, priests were. (2/3)
There is a lot of โParaguay isnโt very goodโ talk. Full stop.
Under Alfaro, they lost just once in WCQ and went 9 straight without defeat. They beat URG, Brazil, & Argentina.
They were one of the best defensive teams in the ๐.
Paraguay isnโt bad.
#USMNT made them look bad.
JUST A REMINDER.
Paraguay beat Brazil and Argentina and had the best defensive record in South American World Cup qualifying.
They just lost 4-1 to the USMNT in their opening match at the 2026 World Cup final.