James 5:16, "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."
Romans 10:9, "That if you confess your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
I went to college with a couple Catholic friends of mine. We used to rant about the whole issue of Penitence and the necessity of it as a means of Grace within the Catholic tradition. My friends and I used to argue that we didn't need nobody to know that we had done anything wrong, let alone the priest or pastor, since we had the full access of Jesus Christ and as Christians we were entitled to forgiveness. As a young Wesleyan, I believed that God was loving so much that I was not going to get in trouble for doing simple wrongdoings. Of course, I was not necessarily ignorant about sin and what sin is and what it isn't. I was very much aware of its roots and causes and often cited the fact that sin was sin before God. I also did understand that sometimes the degree of the consequences can be a little bit higher in once case of a sinful act compared to another. But that is another topic altogether and I will try to talk more about it later on.
Was/Is there a necessity of Penitence? Does it amount to Confession? In this case I use Confession to mean acknowledgment or disclosure of sin or sinfulness, esp. to a priest to obtain absolution (dictionary.com). When one stands before a priest and confesses one's sins and the priest says "your sins are forgiven," does that stand? And it does, then for how long? Or does it wait somewhere before finally being acknowledged by Jesus? If one's sins are forgiven, then what is the need for penance? If it is true that God forgives our sins and forgets them as East is from the West (Psalm 103:12), then why do we have to make up for them with some kind of punishment? I do understand the fact that there are consequences to sin, some heavier than others. I don't know the answers to these questions at the moment. Nevertheless, I would like to look generally into the true meaning of Confession and by confession I mean εξομολόγηση. Does it amount to a means of Grace? Is it an act that we should constantly participate in or do we hold the general protestant idea that once one's sins are forgiven, then that is it? Lets see!
Matthew 18:15-20, and John 20:19-23 are very critical here. A prayerful life must embrace confession. Firstly, we have to remember Jesus' regular confessional prayers to the Father. He was not necessarily repenting of anything but he was acknowledging the fact that his Father was in charge of everything. He was also submitting Himself to Him. Jesus didn't take advantage of his closeness to the Father but he reduced himself to servant hood in order to serve Him just as He sent Him here on earth.
Back to Confession. Matthew 18:15, "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault..." Now that is quite a step forward. I have to admit that sometimes I carry the resentment within instead of just being open and telling someone they wronged. We tend to be careful not to hurt people. One thing I have observed in my current seminary experience is that people are too nice to each other. My fellow students are too nice that they are literally afraid to say anything they feel can hurt somebody. If we are honest enough we should point out the wrongs in order to correct them. I think we should everybody else around as if they were our own children and at the same time they are our parents.
Jesus command to his disciples when he appeared to them after his resurrection was that if they forgave anyone their sins, those sins would be forgiven and vice versa. Now am not going to go deeper into the etymological issues involved here. I am going to take Jesus for his word. In order for them to have done this, the person who was to be forgiven had to have confessed of and repented of their sins before any action was taken. Jesus was even accused of forgiving sins. He cared deeply enough to see how guilt as a result of sin could hamper someone's relationship with God.
Why is confession of sin between brothers and sisters in Christ critical? It opens up a channel of accountability. It also encourages others who might have felt that their sins are too big to talk about. It gives the weaker brothers and sisters courage to openly share their struggles and seek help from those who have overcome such. A strong sense of security must however be built before this is able to happen. In the Holy Club, the members were free with each other. They knew each other well and understood the circumstantial backgrounds from which each of them had come from. They were aware of each other's failings and were willing to address them. They knew the importance of building a strong relationship in order to bridge any possible gaps that could emerge between them. It reminds of the disciples of Jesus who were often amazed at how much trust Jesus gave them. Sometimes they could not believe that Jesus was so free with them to tell them his secrets. For three years, they struggled to even understand who Jesus was. If they were open enough they could have been able to learn much about him and cast away their doubts forever.
I conclude that confession is a means of grace. It should be a lifestyle. In a fallen world sinfully stained by sin, we are bound to say things we ought not to say or do things we ought not to do. We have also seen people do things which we think they could not have done had they been free with us to tell us what they were going through. Many of such cases have always ended up being fatal. Sometimes the guilt of not sharing our lives with others can overwhelm us. We just have to build those relationships and ensure that we continue to confess our sins one to another and acknowledge that Jesus is Lord over our lives. As a Wesleyan, I think confession is part and parcel of the means of grace.
