Confession

Let us look now at the Sacrament of Confession, sometimes referred to as Reconciliation.  Afterwards we will look at what the Early Church Fathers had to say about this Sacrament.

First of all, sin is never a private matter!  Protestants' fail to understand why this means confession is necessary.  The sin of Adam affected each and every one of us, and all of creation as well.  And so it is with our own sin.  Whenever we sin we affect the entire body of Christ, and there are many instances in Scripture which confirm this fact.  In one example we see St. Paul chastise the Corinthians for their fornication, and he points out this very thing.

Right up front, Confession is the gateway back into the fold of the Church.  It is where Prodigal children meet Christ who absolves us through His Priests.

This is why the Catechism of the Church states:

"Reconciliation with the Church is inseparable from reconciliation with God." (1145)

We must consider the benefits of Confession.  Not only does it heal us and resurrect us to life, it makes us aware of our sinfulness and our need before God.  And if we are every to make progress in the spiritual life, we need to discover our dependence upon the grace of God.  So, we must avail ourselves of this Sacrament and go frequently.

Let us look now at the "Power to forgive sins" and see whether or not Christ gave this power to men.  And if He did, what obligations do we have if we expect to be absolved of mortal sin.

Let's look first at Jesus.  It is clear that He has the power to forgive sins.  Not only did He speak of this on numerous occasions, He proved it with miracles.

In Matthew 9:6 we read:

6: "But that you may know that the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins, (then said he to the man sick of palsy), arise, take up thy bed, and go into thy house."

In Mark 2:10 we read:

10: "But that you may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins ..."

In Luke 5:24 we read:

24: "But that you may know the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of palsy), I say to thee, Arise, take up thy bed, and go into thy house."

Alright, we have seen that Jesus has the power to forgive sin, but can we show He gave this power to forgive sins to men?

Yes, He did, and it is irrefutable.

In John 20:21 we read:

21: "He said therefore to them again: Peace be to you.  As the Father hath sent me, I also send you."

Jesus just said His Father sent Him to do something.  He is sending the Apostles to do the same thing.  What did the Father send Him to do?  Forgive sins!  What does He send the Apostles to do?  The same, forgive sins!  How does He give men the power to forgive sins?  He breathes the Holy Spirit into them.

In John 20: 22-23 we read:

22: "When he had said this, he BREATHED on THEM; and he said to THEM: Receive the Holy Spirit."

23: "Whose sins YOU shall FORGIVE, they are forgiven them; and whose sins YOU SHALL RETAIN, they are RETAINED."

This is IRREFUTABLE evidence that He gave MEN the power to forgive sins.  No one can deny this Scriptural evidence.

But there is more.  Not only did Jesus give specific men the "power to forgive the sins of men," He also gave them the "authority to decide" whether or not they will forgive our sins.

The implications of this are incredible.

It is impossible for the Apostles, or any Priest for that matter, to know what sins to forgive and what sins to retain UNLESS there are sinners CONFESSING their sins to THESE MEN.  There is simply no way for Priests to discern if the sin was Mortal, or if the penitent is contrite unless the sinner is confessing to a Priest.  This means Christ has obligated us to confess our sins to His Priests.

Christ does NOT tell the Apostles to go forth and proclaim a Gospel that says "God forgave all men of their sins with no need to repent each time we sin." If that was the Gospel message, Christ would never have given the Apostles the power to forgive sins.

Nowhere in Scripture do we find that Christ forgave us all of personal sin from the past, the present, and the future with nothing further needed from us.  Nowhere do we find that "justification" is a "one-time-justification" with no further need to repent of sin after we are "justified."  In fact, the opposite is true.  We are repeatedly told to repent of personal sin to be "re-justified" with God and His Church.

Protestants do not understand how much they offend God with their notion of "one-time-justification" which is NOT Scriptural.

The very notion of "one-time-justification" is presumption on Christ's mercy, pure and simple.  And it is in direct conflict with the fact that Christ gave the apostles the power to forgive sins, as we have just seen.

If all we need to do to be saved is to have "Faith in Jesus" and have a "one-time-repentance" which results in a "one-time-justification," then Christ was speaking sheer Tom-Foolery when He gave men power to forgive sins in John 20: 21-23.

So then, here is our choice.  Agree with Protestants, or accept the FACT that Christ knew what He was doing when He gave men in His Church the power to forgive sins.

Some Protestants' claim that this power to forgive sins ended with the death of the Apostles.  Well, they must have forgotten two things, and once again, they make Christ speak Tom-Foolery.

Men would not stop sinning after the death of the Apostles, and Christ promised that He would be with His Church to the end of time.  He didn't put a "time limit" on ANYTHING.  Show the text, show that Christ would NOT be with His Church to the end of time.

In Matthew 28:20 we read:

20: "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world."

Teach what?  All that he commanded, and John 20:21-23 is PART of that command.  And we know that Christ is speaking about the passage of time, even to the end of time.  And this means the power that He gave men to forgive sins is passed down through time by the successors to the Apostles and those Priests which they ordain to this Ministry.  Christ endowed His Church with Bishops who have an office of authority and power to do this very thing.

It there Scriptural evidence of this?

Yes, we have Scriptural evidence of the Bishopric and succession of Office.  In fact, their Bishopric had been prophesied in the Old Testament and that Judas would betray Christ and lose his Office to be filled by another.  In fact, the Apostles knew this prophecy referred to them because they quoted it when they selected Matthias to replace Judas.

We read in Acts 1:20:

20: "For it is written in the book of Psalms: Let their habitation become desolate, and let there be none to dwell therein. And his Bishopric let another take."

The Apostles also quote Psalms 109:8.

It reads:

8: "May his days be few: and his Bishopric let another take."

And we also know how they selected the successor to the "Office" of Judas.

In Acts 1:26 we read:

26: "And they gave them lots, and the lot fell upon Matthias, as he was numbered with the eleven apostles."

Christ established this Office of Bishops with Authority because He is no longer visibly present in this world.  It is through the Papacy and the Magisterium that Christ remains visibly present in this world to guide His Church.  And we know this because in Matthew 28:20 we read:

20: "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world."

Protestants try to get around John 20:23 by citing James 5:16.  In fact James said:

16: "Confess therefore your sins, one to another: and pray for one another, that you may be saved.  For the continual prayer of a just man avails much."

First of all, Protestants say "we go directly to Jesus."  Is that so?  Then why try to get around the need to confess your sins by confessing to men who are not charged with the power to forgive sins.  Furthermore, you cannot DO AWAY with the need to confess "Personal Sin" in John 20: 21-23.

Furthermore, why is there a need for continual prayer that we may be saved if we are already saved?

Why continual prayer if justification is a one-time event?  And what does prayer "avail us" if nothing further is needed after Calvary?  Let Protestants explain to us why their prayer is not an attack on the sufficiency of Calvary.  Why are they not attacking the sole intercessory role of Jesus when they pray?  Why is it not an attack on the sole-mediatorship of Jesus?

The reason Protestants are so conflicted and contradictory is because they do not want to repent of mortal sin to be "re-justified."  They create a fantasy view of Christianity that is not Scriptural because they love their sin and are too proud to be subject to men.  Christ Himself, the innocent one, said to Pilate that he would have no power over Him had it not be given to him from above.  But Protestants, in their "righteousness," are above being subject to men.  It is pride through and through.

Matthew 9: 7-8 which reads:

7: "And he arose, and went into his house."

8: "And the multitude seeing it, feared, and glorified God that gave such power to men."

If we commit mortal sin, even though we may do good works, they do not benefit us if we do not repent and confess our sin.  They are "dead" works because our souls are dead to grace.  That is why we need "re-justification."

Look more closely at Hebrews 6:1.  It reads:

1: "Wherefore leaving the word of the beginning of Christ, let us go on to things more perfect, not laying again the foundation of Penance from dead works, and of faith towards God."

St. Paul is pointing out that we cannot be "re-baptized" (the beginning of Christ in our lives) to be forgiven of sin because Christ died only once, and in Baptism we die in Christ death to rise with Him who dies no more.  So, we "cannot" go back to Baptism for the forgiveness of sin for "justification." Any attempt to do that would be to lay a foundation of dead works.  This means we must turn to the Church for the forgiveness of sin.  We must meet Christ in John 20:21-23 in the Sacrament of Confession to repent and do penance for "re-justification."

St. Paul is also pointing out the fact that when we sin "MORTALLY" our works ARE DEAD.

We stain ourselves with sin and in Confession we meet the merits of Calvary.  And anyone who says they are without sin calls Christ a liar.

In 1st John, 1:8-10 we read:

8: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us."

9: "IF WE CONFESS OUR SINS, He is faithful and just, to FORGIVE us our sins, and to cleanse us from all iniquity."

10: "If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and His word is not with us."

If the Lord died on the Cross, and all you have to do is say "I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior," you would have no "need" to confess your sin.  It makes a mockery of Christ's sacrifice on Calvary.

In Proverbs 24:16 we read:

16: "For a just man shall fall seven times and shall rise again: but the wicked shall fall down into evil."

Christ said we sin repeatedly.  But notice, the "sinner" must "repent" each time he sins. That is the entire point about forgiving someone. We are to forgive each time someone sins against us.  Yes, there is no limit to the times we will be forgiven, but each time we sin we must repent.

In Luke 17:4 we read:

4: "And if he sin against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in  a day be converted unto thee, saying, I repent; forgive him."

You forgive the person first, and THEN you confess your sins.  This is why Christ gave men to power forgive sins.

Is there any other place in Scripture that we find support that confirms the Ministry of the Apostles in their power to forgive sins?  Yes, we see the Ministry of the Apostles, and their successors, mentioned over 20 times in the New Testament.  This is where we find the Merits of Calvary are dispensed.

In 2nd Corinthians 5:18 we read:

18: "But all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Christ; and has given to US THE MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION."

And lest we forget the all important prayer that Christ gave us, in Matthew 6:15 we read:

15: "But if you will not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive you your offenses."

Here is a question.  Does what Christ said apply only to men of His time, or does it apply to men of all time.  It applies to men of all time, and so does the power to forgive sins which was given to the Apostles in John 20: 21-13.

In 1st John 5: 16- 17 we read:

16: "He that knows his brother to sin a sin which is not to death, let him ask, and life shall be given to him, who sins not to death.  There IS a sin UNTO death: for that I say not that any man ask.  All iniquity is sin.  And there is a sin UNTO DEATH."

First of all, there are men GIVING THE LIFE OF GRACE to sinners.  And not only that, there is a SIN UNTO DEATH.  This cannot be forgiven by those we have offended.  This can ONLY be forgiven the those who have been give the power to forgive sin.  This is what the Church refers to as MORTAL SIN.

Sin that is NOT unto death is known as VENIAL sin.  It is good to confess venial sin because they do lead to Mortal Sin, but these sins are not deadly.

I'd now life to look at what the Early Fathers of the Church said about the Sacrament of Confession.

Starting with the Didache we read:

"Confess your sins in Church, and do not go up to your prayers with an evil conscience.  This is the way of life, on the Lord's Day gather together, break bread, and give thanks, AFTER confessing your transgressions so that your sacrifice may be pure."  (Didache 4:14, 14:1, A.D. 70)

From Barnabas we read:

"You shall judge righteously.  You shall not make a schism, but you shall pacify those that contend by bringing them together.  You shall CONFESS your sins.  You shall not go to prayer with an evil conscience.  This is the way of light." (Letter of Barnabas 19, A.D. 74)

From Ignatius of Antioch we read:

"For as many as are of God and of Jesus Christ are also with the Bishop.  And as many as shall, in the exercise of Penance, return into the unity of the Church, these, too, shall belong to God, that they may live according to Jesus Christ." (Letter to the Philadelphians 3, A.D. 110)

"For where there is division and wrath, God does not dwell.  To all of them that repent, the Lord grants forgiveness, in they turn in penitence to the unity of God, and to communion with the Bishop."  (Letter of the Philadelphians 8, A.D. 110)

From Irenaeus we read:

"The Gnostic disciples of Marcus have deluded many women.  Their consciences have been branded as with a hot iron. Some of these women make a public confession, but others are ashamed to do this, and in silence, as if withdrawing from themselves the hope of the life of God, they either apostatize entirely or hesitate between the two courses." (Against Heresies 1:22, A.D. 189)

From Tertullian we read:

"Regarding confession, some flee from this work as being an exposure of themselves, or they put it off from day to day.  I presume they are more mindful of modesty than of salvation, like those who contract a disease in the more shameful parts of the body and shun making themselves known to the physicians; and thus they perish along with their own bashfulness." (Repentance 10:1, A.D. 203)

This speaks directly to those who say they do not have to confess to men.

From Hippolytus we read:

"The Bishop conducting the ordination of the new Bishop shall pray: God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Pour forth now that power which comes from you, from your royal Spirit, which you gave to your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, and which he bestowed upon his holy apostles, and grant this your servant, whom you have chosen for the episcopate, the power to feed your holy flock and to serve without blame as your high priest, ministering night and day to propitiate unceasingly before your face and to offer to you the gifts of your holy Church, and by the Spirit of the high priesthood to have the authority to forgive sins, in accord with your command." (Apostolic Tradition 3, A.D. 215)

From Origen we read:

"A final method of forgiveness, albeit hard and laborious is the remission of sins through Penance, when the sinner does not shrink from declaring his sin to a priest of the Lord and from seeking medicine, after the manner of him who say, 'I said, "To the Lord I will accuse myself of my iniquity."  (Homilies on Leviticus 2:4, A.D. 248)

From Cyprian of Carthage we read:

"The apostle Paul likewise bears witness and says: 'Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord.' (1 Corinthians 11:27)  But the impenitent spurn and despise all these warnings; before their sins are expiated, before they have made a confession of their crime, before their conscience has been purged in the ceremony and at the hand of the Priest they do violence to the Lord's body and blood, and with their hands and mouth they sin against the Lord more than when they denied him." (The Lapsed 15:1-3, A.D. 251)

"Of how much greater faith and salutary fear are they who confess their sins to the priests of God in a straight forward manner and in sorrow, making an open declaration of conscience.  I beseech you, brethren, let everyone who has sinned confess his sin while he is still in this world, while his confession is still admissible, while the satisfaction and remission made through the priests are still pleasing before the Lord."  (The Lapsed 28, A.D. 251)

"For although in smaller sins sinners may do Penance for a set time, and according to the rules of discipline come to public confession, and by imposition of the hand of the bishop and clergy receive the right of communion: now with their time unfulfilled, while persecution is still raging, while the peace of the Church itself is not yet restored, they are admitted to communion, and their name is presented; and while the penitence is not yet performed, confession is not yet made, the hands of the Bishop and Clergy are not yet laid upon them, the Eucharist is given to them; although it is written, 'Whosoever shall eat the bread and drink the cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.'" (To the Clergy, 9, 16:2, A.D. 250)

"And do not think, dearest brother, that either the courage of the brethren will be lessened, or that martyrdoms will fail for this cause, that the Penance is relaxed to the lapsed, and that the hope of peace i.e., absolution if offered to the penitent.  For to adulterers even a time of repentance is granted by us, and peace is given." (Letters, 51, 55:20)

"But I wonder that some are so obstinate as to think that repentance is not to be granted to the lapsed, or to suppose that pardon is to be denied to the penitent, when it is written, 'Remember whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works' (Revelations 2:5) which certainly is said to him who evidently has fallen, and whom the Lord exhorts to rise up again by his deeds of Penance, because it is written, 'Alms deliver from death." (Tobit 12:9) (Letters, 51, 55:22)

From Aphrahat the Persian Sage we read:

"You priests, then, who are disciples of our illustrious physician Christ, you ought not deny a curative to those in need of healing.  And if anyone uncovers his wound before you, give him the remedy of repentance.  And he that is ashamed to make known his weakness, encourage him so that he will not hide it from you.  And when he has revealed it to you, do not make it public, lest because of it the innocent might be reckoned as guilty by our enemies and by those who hate us." (Treatises 7:3, A.D. 340)

From Basil the Great we read:

"It is necessary to confess our sins to those to whom the dispensation of God's mysteries is entrusted.  Those doing Penance of old are found to have done it before the Saints.  It is written in the Gospel that they confessed their sins to John the Baptist in Matthew 3:6, but in Acts 19:18 they confessed to the Apostles." (Rules Briefly Treated 288, A.D. 374)

From John Chrysostom we read:

"Priests have received a power which God has given neither to angels nor to archangels.  It was said to them: 'Whatsoever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever you shall loose, shall be loosed.'  Temporal rulers have indeed the power of binding; but they can only bind the body.  Priests, in contrast, can bind with a bond which pertains to the soul itself and transcends the very heavens.  Did God not give them all the powers of heaven?  'Whose sins you shall forgive,' he says, 'they are forgiven; whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.' What greater power is there than this?  The Father has given all judgment to the Son.  And now I see the Son placing all this power in the hands of men (Matthew 10:40 and John 20: 21-23).  They are raised to this dignity as if they were already gathered up to heaven." (The Priesthood 3:5, A.D. 387)

From Ambrose of Milan we read:

"For those to whom the right of binding and loosing has been given, it is plain that either both are allowed, or it is clear that neither is allowed.  Both are allowed to the Church, neither is allowed to heresy.  For this right has been granted to Priests only." (Penance 1:1 A.D. 388)

From St. Jerome we read:

"If the serpent, the devil, bites someone secretly, he infects that person with the venom of sin.  And if the one who has been bitten keeps silence and does not do Penance, and does not want to confess his wound then his brother and his master, who have the word of absolution that will cure him, cannot very well assist him." (Commentary on Ecclesiastics 10:11, A.D. 388)

From Augustine we read:

"When you shall have been baptized, keep to a good life in the commandments of God so that you may preserve your Baptism to the very end.  I do not tell you that you will live here without sin, but they are venial sins which this life is never without.  Baptism was instituted for all sins.  For light sins, without which we cannot live, prayer was instituted. But do not commit those sins on account of which you would have to be separated from the Body of Christ.  Perish the thought!  For those whom you see doing Penance have committed crimes, either adultery or some other enormities.  That is why they are doing Penance.  If their sins were light, daily prayer would suffice to blot them out.  In the Church, therefore, there are three ways in which sins are forgiven, in Baptisms, in prayer, and in the greater humility  of Penance." (Sermon to Catechumens on the Creed 7:15, 8:16, A.D. 395)

Roger L.