Is Confession Biblical?

Tim Staples' Blog ^ | February 19, 2014 | Tim Staples

[GonzoII]

Is Confession Biblical?

The Lord declares in Isaiah 43:25:

I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.

Psalm 103:2-3 adds:

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases…

Many will use these verses against the idea of confession to a priest. God forgiving sins, they will claim, precludes the possibility of there being a priest who forgives sins. Further, Hebrews 3:1 and 7:22-27 tell us Jesus is, “the… high priest of our confession” and that there are not “many priests,” but one in the New Testament—Jesus Christ. Moreover, if Jesus is the “one mediator between God and men” (I Tim. 2:5), how can Catholics reasonably claim priests act in the role of mediator in the Sacrament of Confession?

BEGINNING WITH THE OLD

The Catholic Church acknowledges what Scripture unequivocally declares: it is God who forgives our sins. But that is not the end of the story. Leviticus 19:20-22 is equally unequivocal:

If a man lies carnally with a woman… they shall not be put to death… But he shall bring a guilt offering for himself to the Lord… And the priest shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before the Lord for his sin which he has committed; and the sin which he has committed shall be forgiven him.

Apparently, a priest being used as God’s instrument of forgiveness did not somehow take away from the fact that it was God who did the forgiving. God was the first cause of the forgiveness; the priest was the secondary, or instrumental cause. Thus, God being the forgiver of sins in Isaiah 43:25 and Psalm 103:3 in no way eliminates the possibility of there being a ministerial priesthood established by God to communicate his forgiveness.

OUT WITH THE OLD

Many Protestants will concede the point of priests acting as mediators of forgiveness in the Old Testament. “However,” they will claim, “The people of God had priests in the Old Testament. Jesus is our only priest in the New Testament.” The question is: could it be that “our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13) did something similar to that which he did, as God, in the Old Testament? Could he have established a priesthood to mediate his forgiveness in the New Testament?

IN WITH THE NEW

Just as God empowered his priests to be instruments of forgiveness in the Old Testament, the God/man Jesus Christ delegated authority to his New Testament ministers to act as mediators of reconciliation as well. Jesus made this remarkably clear in John 20:21-23:

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. 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.”

Having been raised from the dead, our Lord was here commissioning his apostles to carry on with his work just before he was to ascend to heaven. “As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” What did the Father send Jesus to do? All Christians agree he sent Christ to be the one true mediator between God and men. As such, Christ was to infallibly proclaim the Gospel (cf. Luke 4:16-21), reign supreme as King of kings and Lord of lords (cf. Rev. 19:16); and especially, he was to redeem the world through the forgiveness of sins (cf. I Peter 2:21-25, Mark 2:5-10).

The New Testament makes very clear that Christ sent the apostles and their successors to carry on this same mission. To proclaim the gospel with the authority of Christ (cf. Matthew 28:18-20), to govern the Church in His stead (cf. Luke 22:29-30), and to sanctify her through the sacraments, especially the Eucharist (cf. John 6:54, I Cor. 11:24-29) and for our purpose here, Confession.

John 20:22-23 is nothing more than Jesus emphasizing one essential aspect of the priestly ministry of the apostles: To Forgive men’s sins in the person of Christ— “Whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven, whose sins you retain are retained.” Moreover, auricular confession is strongly implied here. The only way the apostles could either forgive or retain sins is by first hearing those sins confessed, and then making a judgment whether or not the penitent should be absolved.

TO FORGIVE OR TO PROCLAIM?

Many Fundamentalists claim John 20:23 must be viewed as Christ simply repeating “the great commission” of Matthew 28:19 and Luke 24:47 using different words that mean the same thing:

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

… and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations…

Commenting on John 20:23 in his book, Romanism—The Relentless Roman Catholic Assault on the Gospel of Jesus Christ! (White Horse Publications, Huntsville Alabama, 1995), p. 100, Protestant Apologist Robert Zins writes:

It is apparent that the commission to evangelize is tightly woven into the commission to proclaim forgiveness of sin through faith in Jesus Christ.

Mr. Zin’s claim is that John 20:23 is not saying the apostles would forgive sins; rather, that they would merely proclaim the forgiveness of sins. The only problem with this theory is it runs head-on into the text of John 20. “If you forgive the sins of any… if you retain the sins of any.” The text cannot say it any clearer: this is more than a mere proclamation of the forgiveness of sins—this “commission” of the Lord communicates the power to actually forgive the sins themselves.

FREQUENT CONFESSION

The next question for many upon seeing the plain words of St. John is, “Why don’t we hear any more about Confession to a priest in the rest of the New Testament?” The fact is: we don’t need to. How many times does God have to tell us something before we’ll believe it? He only gave us the proper form for baptism once (Matt. 28:19), and yet all Christians accept this teaching.

But be that as it may, there are multiple texts that deal with Confession and the forgiveness of sins through the New Covenant minister. I will cite just a few of them:

II Cor. 2:10:

 And to whom you have pardoned anything, I also.  For, what I have pardoned, if I have pardoned anything, for your sakes have I done it in the person of Christ (DRV).

Many may respond to this text by quoting modern Bible translations, e.g., the RSVCE:

What I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ (emphasis added).

St. Paul, it is argued, is simply forgiving someone in the way any layperson can forgive someone for wrongs committed against him. The Greek word—prosopon—can be translated either way. And I should note here that good Catholics will argue this point as well. This is an understandable and valid objection. However, I do not concur with it for four reasons:

1. Not only the Douay-Rheims, but the King James Version of the Bible—which no one would accuse of being a Catholic translation—translates prosopon as “person.”

2. The early Christians, who spoke and wrote in Koine Greek, at the Councils of Ephesus (AD 431) and Chalcedon (AD 451), used prosopon to refer to the “person” of Jesus Christ.

3. Even if one translates the text as St. Paul pardoning “in the presence of Christ,” the context still seems to indicate that he forgave the sins of others. And notice: St. Paul specifically said he was not forgiving anyone for offenses committed against him (see II Cor. 2:5). Any Christian can and must do this. He said he did the forgiving “for [the Corinthian’s] sakes” and “in the person (or presence) of Christ.” The context seems to indicate he is forgiving sins that do not involve him personally.

4. Just three chapters later, St. Paul gives us the reason why he could forgive the sins of others: “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation” (II Cor. 5:18). Some will argue that “the ministry of reconciliation” of verse 18 is identical to “the message of reconciliation” in verse 19. In other words, St. Paul is simply referring to a declarative power here. I don’t agree. I argue St. Paul uses distinct terms precisely because he is referring to more than just “the message of reconciliation,” but the same ministry of reconciliation that was Christ’s. Christ did more than just preach a message; he also forgave sins.

James 5:14-17:

Is any one among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and 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.  Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects. Elijah was a man of like nature with ourselves and he prayed fervently that it might not rain… and… it did not rain…

When it comes to one “suffering;” St. James says, “Let him pray.” “Is any cheerful? Let him sing praise.” But when it comes to sickness and personal sins, he tells his readers they must go to the “elders”—not just anyone—in order to receive this “anointing” and the forgiveness of sins.

Some will object and point out that verse 16 says to confess our sins “to one another” and pray “for one another.” Is not James just encouraging us to confess our sins to a close friend so we can help one another to overcome our faults?

The context seems to disagree with this interpretation for two main reasons:

1. St. James had just told us to go to the presbyter in verse 14 for healing and the forgiveness of sins. Then, verse 16 begins with the word therefore—a conjunction that would seem to connect verse 16 back to verses 14 and 15. The context seems to point to the “elder” as the one to whom we confess our sins.

2. Ephesians 5:21 employs this same phrase. “Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.” But the context limits the meaning of “to one another” specifically to a man and wife—not just anyone. Similarly, the context of James 5 would seem to limit the confession of faults “to one another” to the specific relationship between “anyone” and the “elder” or “priest” (Gr.—presbuteros).

ONE PRIEST OR MANY?

A major obstacle to Confession for many Protestants (me included when I was Protestant) is that it presupposes a priesthood. As I said above, Jesus is referred to in Scripture as “the apostle and high priest of our confession.” The former priests were many in number, as Hebrews 7:23 says, now we have one priest—Jesus Christ. The question is: how does the idea of priests and confession fit in here? Is there one priest or are there many?

I Peter 2:5-9 gives us some insight:

… and like living stones be yourselves built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ… But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people…

If Jesus is the one and only priest in the New Testament in a strict sense, then we have a contradiction in Sacred Scripture. This, of course, is absurd.  I Peter plainly teaches all believers to be members of a holy priesthood. Priest/believers do not take away from Christ’s unique priesthood, rather, as members of his body they establish it on earth.

FULL AND ACTIVE PARTICIPATIO

If one understands the very Catholic and very biblical notion of participatio, these problematic texts and others become relatively easy to understand. Yes, Jesus Christ is the “one mediator between God and men” just as I Tim. 2:5 says. The Bible is clear. Yet, Christians are also called to be mediators in Christ. When we intercede for one another or share the Gospel with someone, we act as mediators of God’s love and grace in the one true mediator, Christ Jesus, via the gift of participatio in Christ, the sole mediator between God and men (see I Timothy 2:1-7, I Timothy 4:16, Romans 10:9-14). All Christians, in some sense, can say with St.   Paul, “…it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me…” (Gal. 2:20)

PRIESTS AMONG PRIESTS

If all Christians are priests, then why do Catholics claim a ministerial priesthood essentially distinct from the universal priesthood? The answer is: God willed to call out a special priesthood among the universal priesthood to minister to his people. This concept is literally as old as Moses.

When St. Peter taught us about the universal priesthood of all believers, he specifically referred to Exodus 19:6 where God alluded to ancient Israel as “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” St. Peter reminds us that there was a universal priesthood among the Old Testament people of God just as in the New Testament. But this did not preclude the existence of a ministerial priesthood within that universal priesthood (see Exodus 19:22, Exodus 28, and Numbers 3:1-12).

In an analogous way, we have a universal “Royal Priesthood” in the New Testament, but we also have an ordained clergy who have priestly authority given to them by Christ to carry out his ministry of reconciliation as we have seen.

TRULY AWESOME AUTHORITY

A final couple of texts we will consider are Matt. 16:19 and 18:18. Specifically, we’ll examine the words of Christ to Peter and the apostles: “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” As CCC 553 says, Christ here communicated not only authority “to pronounce doctrinal judgments, and to make disciplinary decisions in the Church,” but also “the authority to absolve sins” to the apostles.

These words are unsettling, even disturbing, to many. And understandably so. How could God give such authority to men? And yet he does. Jesus Christ, who alone has the power to open and shut heaven to men, clearly communicated this authority to the apostles and their successors. This is what the forgiveness of sins is all about: to reconcile men and women with their heavenly Father. CCC 1445 puts it succinctly:

The words bind and loose mean: whomever you exclude from your communion, will be excluded from communion with God; whomever you receive anew into your communion, God will welcome back into his. Reconciliation with the Church is inseparable from reconciliation with God.

If you enjoyed this post and would like to learn more, click here.

[Salvation]

But you do agree that the Sacrament of Penance is mentioned in the Bible?

[wheat_grinder]

If a Protestant sits down every day and prays for thirty minutes to an hour, then he or she may have something to teach me about how I pray. Otherwise, not interested even in reading their posts.

Excellent reply!! That’s just what Yeshua said! Not.
Just read your churches Catechism to see before your own eyes the lies the Catholic church promotes. And if you don’t see them I pray the scales are removed from your eyes. Seriously I WILL.

[wheat_grinder]

Sorry. Replied to wrong person.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

Wow, I’m surprised it took 14 posts before someone raised the whole priest as pedophile issue. Good thing no protestant ministers have ever crossed that line.

According to the John Jay Report, Catholic priests commit sexual abuse at a 1-2% rate, Ministers at a 2-3% rate, and public school teachers at a 5-10% rate.

A lot of people seem to prefer to get their information regarding sexual abuse by clergy from the New York Times.

[.45 Long Colt]

I’m so glad you presented such a strong argument. /

I post Scripture after Scripture and links that deal directly with the Scriptures and you come at me with utter nonsense.

[ThisLittleLightofMine]

The more I read Tim Staples the more I come to realize he twists bends scripture to support his beliefs. He repeatedly mischaracterizes what true followers believe. He pulls scripture out of context and fails to rely on the whole counsel of the word of God. He is shameless in his exploitation and so many catholics that do not know scripture use his writings as a source of apologetics.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

Don’t bother answering, those are rhetorical questions.

You might not be interested in my answers, but others might be. Your objections aren't unusual.

I will, however, ask what happened to all the sinners who didn’t have the benefit of confession for hundreds and hundreds of years?

Confession is normative for Catholics, and mandatory for mortal sins. ("Mortal sins," see 1 John 5:16-17)

However, although Christ instituted the Sacrament, God is not bound by the Sacraments. One who sincerely repents of his sins and truly seeks God's forgiveness can receive His forgiveness. The Church teaches that this is possible not just for Catholics and Protestants, but even non-Christians. In every case, forgiveness is from God.

So why did Christ institute the Sacrament?

First of all, Christ gives the Apostles the authority to retain sins, in addition to forgive sins. (It should go without saying that Christ forgives sins through the person of the priest). One can infer from this that the priest has the authority to discern the penitent's sincerity, and engage in spiritual direction, in addition to absolution.

Secondly, confession to a human being is very tangible and comforting. Ask anyone who has been to Confession. We're human beings, not robots, and hearing the words of absolution from the priest can be a very liberating feeling, normally much more powerful than the feeling one gets from private prayer.

Third, the Sacrament conveys grace, giving us the ability to resist sin in the future.

Finally, the sacrament can be comforting to the scrupulous, who may fret over their own contrition. They can be sure that their sins have been forgiven when they hear the words of absolution from the priest.

Why is there NO confessional in the New Testament?

Does the New Testament say that every tangible thing associated with religious practice must be mentioned in the Bible? Where's that in the Bible?

Regardless, the confessional itself is not essential to the sacrament. From the Bible, we can see that the essence of the sacrament is the verbal communication of one's sins to a priest. The sacrament is efficacious when the penitent is contrite. Even imperfect contrition is acceptable.

No Catholic has ever confessed every single sin. It’s impossible to even recognize all of our sins of commission, let alone omission, so what of all those unconfessed sins?

The typical confession concludes with the words, "for these and all my sins, I am sorry."

The sacrament concludes with an act of contrition. Here is the entire Rite:

Rite of Reconciliation

Reconciliation may be face-to-face or anonymous, with a screen between you and the priest. Choose the option that is the most comfortable for you.

The priest gives you a blessing or greeting. He may share a brief Scripture passage.

Make the Sign of the Cross and say: “Bless me father, for I have sinned. My last confession was…” (give the number of weeks, months or years).

Confess all of your sins to the priest. The priest will help you to make a good confession. If you are unsure about how to confess or you feel uneasy, just ask him to help you. Answer his questions without hiding anything out of fear or shame. Place your trust in God, a merciful Father who wants to forgive you.

Following your confession of sins, say: “I am sorry for these and all of my sins.”

The priest assigns you a penance and offers advice to help you be a better Catholic. Say an Act of Contrition, expressing your sorrow for your sins. The priest, acting in the person of Christ, then absolves you from your sins.

Act of Contrition

God, I am heartily sorry for having offended you, and I detest all my sins because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell; but most of all because they offend you, my God, who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve with the help of your grace to confess my sins, do penance, and to amend my life. Amen.

To everyone else I will point out that the confessional box has created an opening for unspeakable sin throughout the centuries. How many molested boys initially fell under the sway of pervert priests in the confessional box?

I don't know. How many?

Since Christ established the Sacrament, we must obey Him and confess our sins to a priest. The confessional box was designed to protect the penitent's privacy and to prevent the seduction of priest or penitent. If you can think of a better way for people to verbally confess their sins to a priest, the Church is open for suggestions.

Recently, penitents have been given the opportunity to choose face-to-face Confession.

There is risk of seduction in private psychological counseling and private doctor examinations, but the risk is outweighed by the benefit. The same is true of sacramental Confession, which is more important, since it is medicinal to our spiritual well-being.

[NKP_Vet]

“Any religion that says they have the right to change or supercede scripture, even the words of Christ Jesus, is not of Him”

Your argument is with Martin Luther, who most definitely changed scripture to what he wanted it to say.

[NKP_Vet]

Your real beef with Tim Staples is he used to a Catholic-hating pentacostal and he converted to Catholicism, now being one of the best Catholic apologists around.

[Mercat]

Excellent reply. Thanks. One of the things we did with the RCIA candidates and catechumens (now elect) was to tour the confessions in our church. The body language showed me that there was fear. They knew our wonderful priests but somehow going in there and being alone with one was scary. My experiences with confession have for the most part been wonderful. The priest is at the same time detached from me personally but 100% there for me spiritually if that makes sense. Once I was really worried about what I had to confess. I went to another parish. I ended up confessing to a priest whom I’m pretty sure didn’t speak much English. But because I knew he was there representing Christ, the absolution was wonderful and effective for me.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

My experiences with confession have for the most part been wonderful.

Same here. But even after all these years I still have trepidation about going. For me, I think it's mainly an issue of pride. It's hard to admit fault. Confession is very humbling. Still, I always feel great afterwards.

[Salvation]

Any specific examples, or is it that you just don’t like Tim Staples?

[BlueDragon]

Knock off the mind reading.

Seriesly.

[Salvation]

Peace be with you. Those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven.

John 20:19-31

19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."
20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you."
22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.
23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."
24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.
25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe."
26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."
27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe."
28 Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!"
29 Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book.
31 But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. (NRSV)

[cloudmountain]

◄ Matthew 18:18 ►

"Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

[Salvation]

Another example:

“Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them…”

Posted on 15 April 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace 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,
“Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.”

From today’s Gospel reading (John 20:20-23).

Our Lord gave His own power to the Apostles to forgive or to retain sins.  Validly ordained bishops and priests have Christ’s own power to forgive sins and they do so validly with the Church’s permission, indicated by a “faculty”.

There is no sin so great that any of us can commit that a confessor cannot absolve, for it is Christ absolving as the confessor absolves.

The penitential season of preparation for Easter may be behind us, but we must still examine our consciences and go to confession when our examen has brought mortal sin into focus.  There are sins of commission and sins of omission, which as sometimes harder to discern.

Commenting on these verses of John 20, St. Jerome (+420) wrote:

You say that the Church was founded on Peter (Matthew 16:18), although elsewhere the same is attributed to all the apostles, and they all receive the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and the strength of the Church depends on them all alike, yet one among the twelve is chosen so that when a head has been appointed, there may be no occasion for schism. (Adversus Iovinianum 1.26).

Our Lord gives us what we need so that we know we belong to Him in His Body the Church and so that we know that our sins have been forgiven.

Say a prayer of thanks to the Most Holy Trinity for the gift of certainty about both membership in the Church Christ founded and also confidence in forgiveness for our sins through the Sacrament of Penance.

[Mr Rogers]

“The answer is: God willed to call out a special priesthood among the universal priesthood to minister to his people. This concept is literally as old as Moses.”

Guess he forgot to tell the Apostles he was doing so...

[.45 Long Colt]

I trust Christ’s sheep will see through that thin gruel.

Sinners, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16) Genuine born-from-above believers are a “royal priesthood” who have no need of one of Rome’s priests. Don’t listen to the dark lies of Rome. It’s utter bondage!

[cloudmountain]

Your real beef with Tim Staples is he used to a Catholic-hating pentacostal and he converted to Catholicism, now being one of the best Catholic apologists around.

Isn't it interesting how some of these male converts have become SUCH vocal preachers in our faith? Besides Tim Staples there are:
SCOTT HAHN
STEVE RAY
They are TRULY a gift from God. THANK YOU, LORD!

I went on one of Steve and Janet Ray's FOOTPRINTS OF GOD pilgrimages to Israel. It was THE most fabulous tour I have ever been on.
[My husband and I lived and worked in the middle east for five years and went, oh, everywhere. WHAT a lucky woman I was!]

Steve, being a former evangelical Baptist minister, knew his Bible backwards and forwards. He could quote chapter and verse of every place we visited. The story of his conversion was most interesting and heart rending.

It WAS a hoot to watch him deal with the Israelis (Jewish ones) who were NOT thrilled at so many Christians, especially CATHOLICS, visiting the Holy Land.
It was HOMERIC! There was MUCH hand-waving, much movement, turning, looking up and down and much head shaking, as in NO.
My money was on Steve--HOMERIC!!!
Steve always got that "extra" that he wanted us to see and visit.
And NO, he never had to bribe. The Israelis (Jewish ones) don't take bribes and would probably would have been rather annoyed at the offer. Just a guess.

==================================

Every Christian who can OUGHT to save his pennies and visit the place where our Savior lived, taught, suffered and died. That is what our plastic cards are for!
I still get choked up when thinking of our Lord's tomb on Calvary. I kissed His tomb and placed my rosary on it.

Side note: There is no more HILL of Calvary. The Romans took it down in the 3rd or 4th century because it had become a NUISANCE with all the Christian pilgrims.

[Mercat]

I friend of mine told me that the closer he gets to Jesus the more he recognizes his sins and the more he goes to confession. I’ve carried that with me for about 18 months now and find it to be true. It’s all about the relationship. The whole thing about saying the magic words and you’re saved forever - that’s a bit like saying that you go to the altar, get married and never have to tell your spouse you love him or work on that relationship.