79- The Four Types of Confession

[3] It Is Biblically Incorrect To Claim That Confession Is To God Alone And No One Else. As The Scriptures Teach Us, there are Four Types Of Confession.

[3A] Confession of the Sinner to God:

This is indisputable, as there are numerous Scriptural references. Here we quote two examples.

(Psa 51:4) Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight; That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge.

(Dan 9:4-5) And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, "O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, {5} "we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments.

[3B] Confession Of The Sinner To The Clergy:

Both the Old and New Testaments support this principal, which we are about to expound in this chapter

[3C] Confession of the Sinner to His Victim:

The Lord has commanded that sinners shall make good with their victims

(Mat 5:23-24) "Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, {24} "leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

(Luke 17:3-4) "Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. {4} "And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him."

[3D] Confession of the Sinner to Himself through repentance: This is, most definitely, the first and foremost form of confession. How would one confess to God, the priest or his victim, without first admitting his guilt before Himself.

The most prevalent example is the “Prodigal Son”

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(Luke 15:17-18) "But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! {18} 'I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you,

In conclusion restricting confession to God is not Scriptural, especially when we read:

(James 5:16) Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.