Thousands of times each day, all over the world, people step into a small, closet-like box and say to a man, "Bless me father, for I have sinned. It has been - months since my last confession. My sins are..." The priest demands some act of contrition, absolves the person of his or her sins, and assigns an act of penance.

Such is a description of "auricular confession" as practiced by Roman Catholicism. The word "auricular" refers to something related to the ear. A Catholic whispers his confession to the priest, and both church and secular law protect his confession from public knowledge. The question, however, is this. Is such a procedure anywhere suggested, commanded, or endorsed within God's word?

Before he became a member of the church, Greg Litmer, a gospel preacher in Florence, KY, was a Catholic. He addressed the subject of auricular confession in Catholicism Examined, a paper he once edited. He wrote, "One may search the scriptures from cover to cover and find no indication of the practice of auricular confession. There is no indication anywhere that for the first 1,000 years after the death of Christ, Christians were required to come, on bended knee before a priest, and secretly confess their sins to him."

The Catholic church created this concept at the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215 A.D. and confirmed it in 1551, at the Council of Trent. At that time, they wrote the following into church law: "If anyone denieth either that sacramental confession was instituted or is necessary to salvation of divine right; or saith that the manner of confessing secretly to a priest alone, which the church hath ever observed from the beginning and doth observe, is alien from the institution and command of Christ, and is a human invention; let him be anathema." But, of course, that emphatic statement doesn't make it so. If, like the Bereans, we search the scriptures, we can find the truth.

The same problem among us?
Members of the Lord's church, however, have not remained untouched by this heresy. Many brethren want to confess their sins to the preacher or elders and then swear them to silence. And some preachers and elders relish receiving such confessions and holding such confidences. Where does this originate?

As we've seen in our previous studies, confession is an act designed to disclose, reveal, or lay on the table, our sinful conduct. It is not something we do in secret, cloaked, hidden and out of public sight.

Why do brethren often seem to want to replace public confession with secret confession? Perhaps for the same reason the Catholic Church did so in the Middle Ages. "One reason is due to the scandals which were sometimes consequent to public penance. The church found the patient more willing to accept exercises of prayer, piety, and alms-giving which, in her clemency, she commuted from the enjoined penances once so severe." (Brooklyn Tablet, Jan. 20, 1962)

Are we embarrassed or scandalized by the idea that church members commit sin? Do we find that, by substituting religious exercises and human works for God's command to confess our sins, it is easier to imagine ourselves nearly sin-free?

Perhaps we need to look again at the first-century Christians. In Acts 19:18, we read: "And many who had believed came, confessing and telling their deeds."

The New International Version reads, "Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds."

And the New Revised Standard Version translates the passage, "Also many of those who became believers confessed and disclosed their practices."

They then burned their books about magic, which were worth 50,000 pieces of silver. It was a very public disavowal of sinful practice and thus, a positive affirmation of faith in God.

Brother Blackaby has touched on a real situation in which brethren try to place preachers. When a brother or sister sins, he or she needs to repent. If the sin was a public sin, a formal confession is the best course to pursue. Yes, the Bible does tell us to "confess our sins one to another." (James 5:16) Yet, we must remember that God is the only One who can truly forgive our sins and take away the punishment of death. All sin, no matter who we sin against, is also a sin against God. I can personally forgive you for sinning against me, but you must also approach God and seek His pardon.

Every sin committed does not require a public confession. If you are aware of the sin, and it involves another person, go to that person and correct it. Following that, go to God in prayer and ask Him to forgive and show mercy by removing that sin from the record. The Bible encourages us to strengthen one another, and prayer is one way of doing that. Yet, we need not involve more than is necessary to take care of personal sins.

In the mid-70s, when the Crossroads Movement began to make inroads into the Lord's church, one of the things they demanded was that each new convert be assigned a "junior prayer partner." When the new convert sinned, he confessed that sin to the "prayer partner." Every sin committed was to be confessed. This served as a means of control. Think about it-the prayer partner would have a complete record of a person's sins, and could use that knowledge to influence the person who sinned to do whatever the prayer partner asked. Such theories are not found in the Bible; they are the teachings of men.

The Roman Catholic Church has convinced its followers that priests have the power and authority to forgive or absolve their sins. Where, in the Scriptures, did God give men such authority? God is the only one who can forgive sins (Matthew 9:6; Acts 8:25). Turning this power over to men is not only unscriptural but very dangerous. One reason we have the avenue of prayer is to confess our sins to God. We need not go to the "preacher," but can take care of the sin immediately when we become aware of it. One of our greatest blessings in Christ is the right to petition God (Ephesians 1:3; 2 Peter 1:3). This is one reason we are to "pray without ceasing." (1 Thessalonians 5:17) God's forgiveness is available anytime His children need it. It is not dependent on confessing to the preacher or, for that matter, any other Christian.

God's law concerning forgiveness of His children's sins is quite clear. One must acknowledge his sin and repent with godly sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:8-11). We must confess our willingness to turn away from the sin and seek to put that sin to death in our lives (Colossians 3:5-10). While others can pray for us, it is not necessary in order for God to forgive the sin. Let us be careful we don't become guilty of that with which we charge others. (KMG)