Is Confession scriptural?

Why must we confess our sins to a priest? Is it not enough to confess them directly to God? 

 

Let's start by clearing up a major misconception. Catholics do not confess their sins to a priest instead of to God. We confess our sins first to God directly then we go to the Church and God then forgives us through a priest which is appointed by our Lord as an official stand-in for Christ (alter Christus).

 

Three basic Scripture passages underlie this practice:

 

Matthew 16:18-19  "And so I say to YOU, YOU are Peter [instant change of name from Simon], and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  I will give YOU [Peter]  the keys to the kingdom of heaven.  Whatever YOU [Peter] bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever YOU [Peter] loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

 

God revealed a new and radical calling to a sole person. This would happen each time he changed someone’s name in scripture. This is very significant and often overlooked. Jesus didn't have to rename Simon as Peter but did because his calling was above and beyond that of his birth given name.  We see this with Abram-Abraham and Jacob-Israel.

 

In three different verses, Jesus uses the word 'you' seven times. It doesn’t make any sense that Jesus would address that much of this passage to Peter, and then end up saying, “But I will build my Church upon me.” The actual context here is clearly one where Jesus is passing on a unique authority to Peter. Jesus is

“the wise man who built his house upon the rock” Matthew 7:24

This makes Jesus the builder of the Church, not the building itself. Jesus said, “I will build my church.” Jesus building the Church upon himself does not fit the context.

 

Matthew 18:18  "Amen, I say to YOU, whatever YOU [Peter] bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever YOU [Peter]  loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

John 20:21-22 Jesus said to THEM [the apostles] again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you [the apostles]."  And when he has said this, he breathed on them [the apostles] and said to them [the apostles], "Receive the holy Spirit.  Whose sins YOU [the apostles] forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins YOU [the apostles] retain are retained."

 

Lets not pretend that what the text is saying isn't clear as day here. The authority he gave here was not to all of his disciples. At the time that number reached the thousands. He only said this to his twelve most trusted apostles. 

 

He gave Peter the keys to the kingdom. Although many argue that the ‘rock’ Jesus spoke of in this text meant himself, however since the New Testament was written in Greek due to the fact that it was the principal language spoken in Rome at that time. In Ancient Judaism, the language spoken by the Jews at the time was Aramaic. Hence, Jesus spoke Aramaic. The Aramaic name used in this verse is “Cephas” meaning "rock". Jesus changed the apostle Simon's name to Cephas because he was to be the rock upon which the Christian church was to be built and the one representing Jesus on earth. The pastor of the Church. See my posts on details of the Papacy.

 

There’s no such thing as big rock/little rock in Matthew 16:18 and such idea definitely isn't taught in the scriptures. Bible alone believing Protestants should know, if studying scripture properly and within context, that this isn’t taught here. If this were so, the actual Greek word for ‘little rock” would be specified on that verse. Since the New Testament was written in Koine Greek, the word for "little rock" would be "lithos" and if that was how Peter was to be described, it would have been included in that verse. Petros and petra are simply the masculine and feminine form of a word with the same root and it carried the same definition which is ”rock.” Therefore, there is no “small rock” in the Greek text either.

 

This theory of Peter being the ‘little rock” surfaced less than 500 years ago. Before that, all early Christians believed and understood that Peter is the Rock Jesus referred to in Matthew 16:18. This had been the belief for over 1500 years. Until this day the Catholic Church still believes that to be the case.  Biblical evidence shows in John 1:42, that Jesus did not use Greek in the naming of Peter but in Aramaic.

 

[Andrew] brought [Peter] to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).

Many believe that the two “rocks” mentioned in the Greek text have different meanings:

“Thou art Petros, and on this petra I will build my church.”

It is believed that Petros, the first “rock,” refers to a small rock (Peter) and petra, the second “rock,” means a vast boulder, either Jesus himself or of Peter’s confession of faith (many protestants argue about this as well). Hence the argument determines that Jesus did not build his Church upon Peter but instead upon himself or Peter’s faith. 

 

So the question here is: Why did Matthew specify two different words for rock in the same sentence?

 

Here is why:

 

Petra: Common word in Greek used over fifteen times for Rock throughout the New Testament. This is used to mean “rock,” “rocks,” or “rocky” in the New Testament. However, this is a feminine noun which is why it was obviously not used for Peter as it would've been inappropriate and erroneous to do so. 

 

Petros: Is an ancient Greek term. This was not commonly used in Koine Greek which is the language the New Testament was written in. This was never used in the New Testament except when Jesus changed Simon's name to Peter.

 

Peter himself had the opportunity to use the word 'petras' in 1 Peter 2:5. Instead he used the word “lithos” to describe a stone or small rock. The word petros is uniquely applied to Peter in Scripture and is never used to hint at a “small rock.”

 

In Revelation 1:18, Jesus declares,

“I have the keys of Death and Hades,” then quotes this very text from Isaiah in Revelation 3:7

And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:

“The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one shall shut, who shuts and no one opens.”

There is not one Christian who would deny that Jesus is the true King and the one who possesses the keys. To whom does he give the keys? To Peter.

 

Now let’s get back to the topic of this post. Confession.

 

During his lifetime Christ forgave sins. Since he would not be physically and visibly with the Church after his ascension, Christ delegated this power to other men. This was so that the Church could offer forgiveness to future generations. He gave this as a communicable power only to the apostles and this was to be passed on to their successors, the bishops (priests). In John 20:21-22, Jesus tells the apostles to follow his example, he delegated the power to the apostles to forgive sins. 

 

"Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.  The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful."

 

This power given to the apostles and their successors doesn't come from within them but from God. Throughout the New Testament, Jesus gave the apostles authority over unclean spirits, healing, raise people from the dead, etc. No Christian speculate that these powers came from the apostles themselves, since God is the one that chose to use them to manifest his power and mercy. 

 

In Paul's words,

“All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation” 2 Corinthians 5:18

The apostles and their successors are simply ambassadors for Christ,

"We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God." 2 Corinthians 5:20

They bring his forgiveness to the world through the sacraments and the message of the gospel. After speaking peace to them, he said,

“As the Father has sent me, even so I send you” John 20:21 

 

Jesus then breathed on the apostles. This verse is often ignored or simply passed over, and it has an extraordinary significance because it is only the second time in all of Scripture, where God breathes on anyone. The other instance was in creation, when God breathed his own life into Adam. This should tell us that something of great importance has taken place. Upon doing this, Jesus said,

“Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” John 20:22–23

 

In closing I would like to add this. When personally asking God for his forgiveness in a private setting and when we having a true repentant heart, he listens and we know that he is ready to forgive. Confession isn't about going to a man and telling them our secrets and all our filthy sins. This is a man that loves God and loves us enough to want to give us the absolution. Confessing to a priest is liberating! Having someone to not only listen but counsel you on how you can overcome such sins brings healing and a solution. When we confess only to God, we get comfortable and sin again and again and since no one else knows our little secret, we just ask for forgiveness without any repercussions or shame and move on with our life. God wants to help us break free from sin. Addictions that need breaking sometimes isn't easy to do alone. Why not let those men that Jesus left for us [his apostles] and all who succeeded them to help us? Only God forgives us. Only through Jesus do we find redemption. The priests are just there as an instrument to help us as Jesus does but in physical form. When the priest gives the absolution, he does so not in his own name but in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. It is never in his name or by his own power. Here is the prayer we do when we confess, repent and ask God for forgiveness through the Act of Contrition at the end of our confession and the prayer the priest prays over us:

Act of Contrition: My God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart. In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good, I have sinned against you whom I should love above all things. I firmly intend, with your help, to do penance, to sin no more, and to avoid whatever leads me to sin. Our Savior Jesus Christ suffered and died for us. In his name, my God, have mercy.

 

Prayer of Absolution: God the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.