confession of sins

[Guest truthseeker007]

When you get baptised, do you have to confess your sins? To me that would be a very very very long baptism. I got a very big list of sins. Actually i don t look forward to tell everybody what i have done. THey could even go to the police, tell em what i did and i ll end up in jail!

[John317]

Confession of sin is something a Christian does to God before the baptism, not at the time of baptism. You certainly don't need to give anyone your list. No one wants to know anyway. It is between you and God alone.

If you have wronged someone, then God does want you to make it right with them before baptism. For instance, if you have stolen something from someone; then return the stolen property, etc. Do as Zacheus did in that way. Confess your wrongs to people to whom you have committed wrongs, but your private sins are for God's ear alone.

Then after baptism, you continue this practice as you remember wrong you've committed or when you realize you've committed sins against God.

[Guest truthseeker007]

"you have wronged someone, then God does want you to make it right with them before baptism. For instance, if you have stolen something from someone; then return the stolen property, etc"

Well one time there was a guy whom i suspected he stole something out of my garden. In response i stole something from him and i ve destroyed it. He steals a lot, uses drugs etc. without even caring. No way i ll ever go to him and apologize. However i won t do such things ever again. It s better to suffer than to act.

[John317]

There are at least two ways of looking at this. On the one hand your confession to him may make him want to punish you in some way, but on the other, it could have the effect of making him think about Jesus and God. I don't know the situation as well as you do, but I know we're to be both innocent and wise.

[Guest truthseeker007]

Jesus said you shouldn t give the pearls to the swines. The guy would laugh at me and ridicule me. That s the situation so i ll never do that. I have better things to do for those who love truth. However if i could turn back time i wouldn t have done it, and i regret it.

[Dr. Shane]

I don't know how Biblical it is but my policy is to make direct amends for wrongs done except when to do so would injure them or others. If a direct apology would land me in jail that would harm my family which I now must support both financially and emotionally. So there are some wrongs I must make indirect amends for.

Let's say stole a large amount of money from someone. To admit that to the person he would surely put me in jail. So rather than do that I donate that amount of money to a charity that I know he cares about. If he is a veteran, I may choose a veteran's charity. If he is a hunter, I may choose a conservation organization or even a political one like the NRA. If he attends a church, that would be a fine place to repay my debt.

Let's consider that my sine was not a financial one. Perhaps I made fun of a handicap person or other similar type of sin and that person is no longer available to make amends to. It is good in these circumstances to do good to another in their circumstances. It helps us heal. When we sin against another we do our own souls damage that need to be healed as well.