Do you have to confess all your sins publically to get forgiveness?
107421
in my opinion no. you confess your sins to God and accept him into your heart and you are forgiven. the sins hang over your head kind of as a reminder to not do them again and that they are wrong
489181
there! Spider got the answer, you have to repay for all the sins that you have committed and this repayment of sins can come only if your soul dies, but then the innocent one, Jesus took your place and suffered for your sins, thereby repaying your sins, so when you admit that you are a sinner, you have not done anything, you have to be washed clean, just realising that you are dirty does not help if you don't want to be clean, like that when you admit you are a sinner, you need to be washed clean and your sins can be washed only by the precious blood of the lamb and hence it is essential that you have to believe and trust in Jesus as your saviour once you admit you are a sinner. God bless you!
1035659
The Necessity and Practice of Orally Confessing Sins\n\nJames 5:16 - James clearly teaches us that we must “confess our sins to one another,” not just privately to God. James 5:16 must be read in the context of James 5:14-15, which is referring to the healing power (both physical and spiritual) of the priests of the Church. Hence, when James says “therefore” in verse 16, he must be referring to the men he was writing about in verses 14 and 15 – these men are the ordained priests of the Church, to whom we must confess our sins.\n\nActs 19:18 - many came to orally confess sins and divulge their sinful practices. Oral confession was the practice of the early Church just as it is today. \n\nMatt. 3:6; Mark 1:5 - again, this shows people confessing their sins before others as an historical practice (here to John the Baptist). \n\n1 Tim. 6:12 - this verse also refers to the historical practice of confessing both faith and sins in the presence of many witnesses. \n\n1 John 1:9 - if we confess are sins, God is faithful to us and forgives us and cleanse us. But we must confess our sins to one another. \n\nNum. 5:7 - this shows the historical practice of publicly confessing sins, and making public restitution. \n\n2 Sam. 12:14 - even though the sin is forgiven, there is punishment due for the forgiven sin. David is forgiven but his child was still taken (the consequence of his sin). \n\nNeh. 9:2-3 - the Israelites stood before the assembly and confessed sins publicly and interceded for each other. \n\nSir. 4:26 - God tells us not to be ashamed to confess our sins, and not to try to stop the current of a river. Anyone who has experienced the sacrament of reconciliation understands the import of this verse. \n\nBaruch 1:14 - again, this shows that the people made confession in the house of the Lord, before the assembly. \n\n1 John 5:16-17; Luke 12:47-48 - there is a distinction between mortal and venial sins. This has been the teaching of the Catholic Church for 2,000 years, but, today, most Protestants no longer agree that there is such a distinction. Mortal sins lead to death and must be absolved in the sacrament of reconciliation. Venial sins do not have to be confessed to a priest, but the pious Catholic practice is to do so in order to advance in our journey to holiness. \n\nMatt. 5:19 - Jesus teaches that breaking the least of commandments is venial sin (the person is still saved but is least in the kingdom), versus mortal sin (the person is not saved).
1053406
well that's what you guys seem to think.......but honestly do you believe you will be saved by confessing?
106684
by confessing and by doing good deeds.confessing is always hard,there's no easy way to do it
1081468
According to The Law of the Seal of Confession in Catholicism, priests aren't supposed to reveal anything confessed to them in confession.  Legally, it would vary from country to country, but in America, the answer is generally no.  Not only is the priest not required to report it, but it isn't admissible in court if the court somehow finds out the person confessed to the priest.  This only works for things told to the priest while giving confession, however.  I've provided a link that tells about The Law of the Seal of Confession and laws throughout history and in various countries about it.
1046734
Tell the people that you may have hurt that you are truly sorry, make restitution if you can, ask the Lord for forgiveness. If that doesn't work talk to your preacher/minister about it.
1027719
Jesus didn't take part of our sins to the cross; He took ALL OUR SINS.  He is waiting for you to return to Him.  If you confess your sins, He is faithful to forgive you.  Just ask Him.
1108760
Oh My!! You confess to the whole church???  Do the people judge you for what sins you have made?? How could I look at the members in the church eye to eye, who have commited serious sins?  I don't think it is meant for us to judge.  How can we not when we hear about members airing their dirty laundry?  I think your sin should be left to God to handle.
1027315
Hello lulu.. :)\n\nThe Answer is NO..\n\nWe are all born with sin in our lives and we cannot blame anyone for our actions..but ourselves..\n\nI used to blame others, my mother, father and others on my life while I growing up..my father was a drunk, and my mother physically abused me as a little child..I never heard about Love and forgiveness..that was not in our home.. :(\n\nLater in life I became a  druggie, and a child abuser..so was it my fault or my parents, or because I was born evil..\n\nIf any of those were the case, my life would not have done a 360% turn..\n\nInstead of hate, there is Love..instead of anger, there is forgiveness..instead of doubt, there is faith..where there used to be Me first, there is now wanting to help others and put their needs first..\n\nIn Jesus Most Precious Name..\nWith Love..In Christ..
686529
well a sin is a sin, but you can always go to god for penance he will forgive you :]
103897
Once you repent and ask God to forgive you of something, you are forgiven. Not only does he forgive you, he also remembers it no more. So you need not worry about that. However when you sin there are still consequences. For example if you drink and use drugs for a long time, you may damage your body, or if you mess up financially, you may find yourself stuck in debt. Or if you offend someone, there's still a damaged relationship to be dealt with. You will still have to deal with the consequences even though you are forgiven. But take heart, God doesn't leave you to deal with them on your own. He stays with you and heals you, weather it takes a long time or a little, he does take care of us.\n\nAs for the desires of your heart, God knows better than you do what you want, what you need, and what will benefit you. Of course he wants you to pray and make your requests known, but that doesn't mena he'll always give you what you want when you want it. Again, He knows best. He may not give you what you want because he knows it's not the best thing for you. Or perhaps the timing is not right, and he will give you what you want at the best time (later). It may also be that he wants to teach you to wait on him and trust him.\n\nIn any case, just trust him. He is your father and he loves you more than you will ever imagine. He also sees all things. He knows everything that will happen to you in your life and he truly knows what's best. Also rest assurred he has forgiven you of everything you've repented for. You need only repent once for a sin and it is completely forgotten by Him. So forgive yourself. God has forgiven you, and those past sins will never count against you.
129970
OK lets try and unravel this into its core components.\n\nA police officer [I am assuming] has told you that you cannot approach and/or speak to this person.\n\nYou however, feeling guilty over whatever it is that you have done, feel an overwhelming desire to be punished for your transgression.\n\nThis is a normal reaction for many people as they feel the psychological need for punishment as this provides a sense of "closure" and a shift in guilt.\n\nIn your case you actually want him to do something wrong as well, not just punish you, as this means that he cannot point the finger at you because he has done a horrible thing too.\n\nI know people will say..go to your brother first before coming to the temple...but that does not apply to you in this situation.  You harbour no ill will towards this person!  You cry out to God because your sin is before you.  \n\nGod always hears this cry and you need to focus on your relationship with God first.  This is the path to forgiveness for you, not the friend.  You need to understand that God forgives you.  Then, you may be able to forgive yourself.  Finally you may be able to approach this person and ask forgiveness.\n\nRemember, they may not want to forgive you, and that is their right.  Your peace and forgiveness with God is not dependant upon this persons responses to you, even though you did the wrong thing.\n\nGod may be workingnin that persons life too, and Gods timing is not always ours.  Also, some people just need lots of time to be able to forgive, and just because you may be in a hurry to receive it, does not mean you should hurry them up.\n\nThats why it starts with God for you, so that if this man cannot forgive you, you have peace with God that you did all you could to ask for it....and who knows, in time that might help this man to forgive you anyway.\n\nForgiveness is something you ask for from another because it gives THEM the opportunity to heal from the hurt you have done to them.....\n\nIt is never asked for to make YOU feel better about the pain and guilt that you feel for having caused it.\n\nIn your case, you cant approach this person anyway, so this is a perfect opportunity to seek a counsellor perhaps to give you some support with your feelings and how to deal with them.
297826
The deal is, you yourself are supposed to feel more inclined to not do the sin again. You are supposed to feel regret, and say, damn, thats a sin, im not doing that again.\n\nBut if you keep doing it, then it probably doesnt mean much to you if you confess. If this is true, then there isnt a real reason to confess your sins. Repent yourself if you feel you did wrong, and if you feel you did nothing wrong, live your life as you want to.
691143
If one commits adultary, then no.  but you do need to repent and get back on course or else you can lose your salvation.  As long has you repent, then you will be fine.  Just don't repeat the act.
399859
Sure.\n\nYou talk about thing things you have.  Did you do something wrong in order to obtain those things?  If so, you may need to make restitution with the person you slighted in order to make peace with that.\n\nWhatever you have done, if you have asked God to forgive you, you have to forgive you, too.  Failing to forgive yourself will definitely hold you back.\n\nOnce God has forgiven you, you don't have the right to wallow in guilt and shame.  He has freed you to go on to better things, and failing to do so is failing to accept His gracious gift.\n\nI know it can be hard to forgive yourself.  I have always struggled with that.  Part of it for me is recognizing that it hurts God when I don't accept His forgiveness and let go of my guilt and move on.\n\nI had the same problem with confidence.  I was afraid of being selfish, and I was very insecure.  I held on to my insecurity because I didn't want to be arrogant and selfish.  Then I realized how selfish it was that when someone asked me for my opinion, I would answer, but in a voice so small that they struggled to hear me.  I was showing my insecurity, which I thought was humble.  But they were having to work to hear me, which is pretty arrogant.  What is so great about what I have to say, that I'm going to make people work to hear it?  Now, I don't have to go to the other extreme and yell, but it is kind to be considerate of the one asking and speak my answer loudly enough that they can hear it.\n\nI used to think my guilt would keep me from making the same mistakes again.  I grew up never being forgiven, so I learned never to forgive myself.  It didn't work, so I shamed myself on top of that.  Still to no avail.\n\nGuilt is supposed to serve a purpose.  It's supposed to lead us to repentance and forgiveness.  Anything other than that is an abuse of guilt.  Some people will say, "ignore the guilt." but that's not really helpful.  Guilt can bring you out of self-destructive patterns if you use it correctly.\n\nWhen you feel it and repent and ask for forgiveness, you have to take the next step, which is trust.  You have to trust God enough to believe that He has forgiven you and that you can forgive yourself.  And you have to trust that He will help you do His will.  And trust yourself enough to take that next step onward.\n\nGuilt keeps you tied to that cement block you tossed in the river.  Cut the cord, or you'll drown in self-contempt.
608803
In the book of James we are told to "confess your sins, one to another".  This is also one of the ways people get sober and stay that way in AA. We put our shortcomings into perspective and get our guilt out. So yes appropriate, at least at times, and certainly usefull for spiritual health.