Because we keep sinning. Confession is a way of reconciling with God again and accepting his crucifixion. God died for all of us knowing that we are sinners but He will only accept us if we give Him our heart. God is not going to allow anyone to enter into His Kingdom without repentance. He needs us to want Him not live in sin our whole life and then decide to be with Him when we die.
In the Name of the Father+ and of the Son+ and of the Holy Spirit+, the One True God. Amen.[glow=red,2,300][/glow]
Let's use the example of the Church as a 'spiritual hospital' where the 'sick' (sinners-everybody) go to find healing. Christ is the both the Doctor and the Medicine. The Sacraments (the Mysteries) are the ways Dr. Jesus Christ gives us our medicine. He has equipped His 'hospital' (the Church) with all the necessary charisms (spiritual gifts) to dispense the medication for you and me for our spiritual edification. His Death on the Cross and Resurrection made this possible. Let's see what the Holy Scriptures say:
St. John the Baptist began to preach the Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with a message of repentance: "John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. 5 Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins, (Mark 1:4-5)."
However this was not the Christian Sacrament of Holy Baptism since later disciples of St. John had to be re-baptized by the Holy Apostles (see Acts Chapter 19). It is only after His Death and Resurrection that the Sacrament was done or 'energized' when the Lord gave us the Great Commission:
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit... (Matthew 28:19)". Please forgive me for the this little distraction. I will continue in the next post.
As sin is the barrier between man and God, so forgiveness of sin is the reconciliation of man with God. The importance of the forgiveness of sins by Christ is reinforcedby the fact that the main charge against Him at His trial was His act of absolution of the sins of man, an act which belongs to God alone (Luke 5:21). Absolution is the foundation of the Sacrament of Confession. Christ granted this power to the Apostles:
" And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven, (Matthew 16:19)", see also Matthew 18:18. He also gave the Apostles the authority to forgive sins:
" 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 (John 20:23)".
To say that the Apostles cannot forgive sins is to say the Lord Jesus didn't give them the authority to do so and that Christ Himself cannot forgive sin and THAT'S blasphemy!
Lastly, let's return to the example of the Church as a 'spiritual hospital'. In the Gospel story of the Leper our Lord heals:
"12 And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” 13 Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately the leprosy left him. 14 And He charged him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded, (Luke 5:12-14).”
This story is very important because it shows that we as sinner are spiritual lepers and are unclean everytime we sin. Notice the Lord sending the cured leper to the priest (see Leviticus 14 for rules concerning lepers). The Lord sends us to the priest too... His servants who help give us the medicine, God's mercy and forgiveness, in, through and by Dr. Jesus Christ! Hope this helps and encourages you to experience the awesomeness and power of Confession during this Holy Week!
excellent posts, boricua and marianne. i would like to add that it is God who forgives sins (the apostles/bishops/priests are channels) see luke 5:21 - the significance of Jesus saying so on so many occasions 'your sins are forgiven' was to show that He was God.
also see james 5:16, we are commanded to confess our sins. so the apostles weren't telling people their sins were forgiven (by God) just randomly when they felt like it, Christians from the beginning of the church were confessing their sins to their spiritual father.
if it seems a bit long, just read the post by father peter (he was a deacon at the time of posting). they summarise most of sin, confesion and salvation.
and if that's not enough, there are lots of topics recently in 'personal issues' about 'big sin' etc etc by people who have problems confessing and some wise words there as well
may God bless you, and pray for me too in my weakness
Comments
Confession is a way of reconciling with God again and accepting his crucifixion. God died for all of us knowing that we are sinners but He will only accept us if we give Him our heart. God is not going to allow anyone to enter into His Kingdom without repentance. He needs us to want Him not live in sin our whole life and then decide to be with Him when we die.
Let's use the example of the Church as a 'spiritual hospital' where the 'sick' (sinners-everybody) go to find healing. Christ is the both the Doctor and the Medicine. The Sacraments (the Mysteries) are the ways Dr. Jesus Christ gives us our medicine. He has equipped His 'hospital' (the Church) with all the necessary charisms (spiritual gifts) to dispense the medication for you and me for our spiritual edification. His Death on the Cross and Resurrection made this possible. Let's see what the Holy Scriptures say:
St. John the Baptist began to preach the Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with a message of repentance:
"John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. 5 Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins, (Mark 1:4-5)."
However this was not the Christian Sacrament of Holy Baptism since later disciples of St. John had to be re-baptized by the Holy Apostles (see Acts Chapter 19). It is only after His Death and Resurrection that the Sacrament was done or 'energized' when the Lord gave us the Great Commission:
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit... (Matthew 28:19)". Please forgive me for the this little distraction. I will continue in the next post.
" And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven, (Matthew 16:19)", see also Matthew 18:18. He also gave the Apostles the authority to forgive sins:
" 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 (John 20:23)".
To say that the Apostles cannot forgive sins is to say the Lord Jesus didn't give them the authority to do so and that Christ Himself cannot forgive sin and THAT'S blasphemy!
"12 And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
13 Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately the leprosy left him. 14 And He charged him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded, (Luke 5:12-14).”
This story is very important because it shows that we as sinner are spiritual lepers and are unclean everytime we sin. Notice the Lord sending the cured leper to the priest (see Leviticus 14 for rules concerning lepers). The Lord sends us to the priest too... His servants who help give us the medicine, God's mercy and forgiveness, in, through and by Dr. Jesus Christ! Hope this helps and encourages you to experience the awesomeness and power of Confession during this Holy Week!
Amen!
i would like to add that it is God who forgives sins (the apostles/bishops/priests are channels) see luke 5:21 - the significance of Jesus saying so on so many occasions 'your sins are forgiven' was to show that He was God.
also see james 5:16, we are commanded to confess our sins. so the apostles weren't telling people their sins were forgiven (by God) just randomly when they felt like it, Christians from the beginning of the church were confessing their sins to their spiritual father.
another thread with some good points is here:
http://tasbeha.org/content/community/index.php?topic=7436.0
if it seems a bit long, just read the post by father peter (he was a deacon at the time of posting). they summarise most of sin, confesion and salvation.
and if that's not enough, there are lots of topics recently in 'personal issues' about 'big sin' etc etc by people who have problems confessing and some wise words there as well
may God bless you, and pray for me too in my weakness