Untitled - A2Z.org

6 72 Tim . 1 :5 ; 3 :15 "For I recollectthe faith which is in you withoutany hypocrisy, and which dweltfirst in your grandmother Loisand your mother Eunice, butwhich I am confident is also inyou . And that from infancy youhave known the holy writingswhich are able to make you wisefor salvation through the faith inconnection with Christ Jesus ."Gen . 18 :19 "For I have knownhim [Abraham], to the end thathe may command his childrenConfessionand his household after him, thatthey may keep the way of Jehovah,to do righteousness andjustice."Deut. 6 :6, 7 "And these words,which I command thee this day,shall be upon thy heart ; andthou shalt teach them diligentlyunto thy children, and shalt talkof them when thou sittest in thyhouse, and when thou walkest bythe way, and when thou liestdown, and when thou risest up ."ConfessionDEFINITION(1) A personal admission of sins before God, with true repentance,asking for forgiveness from God through his Mediator and HighPriest, Jesus Christ .(2) A public proclamation of God's purposes as revealed in theBible, confessing or admitting one's dedication to do God's will,and telling of God's provisions for vindication of His name andsalvation of men through Jesus Christ .(3) A personal admission to other Christians of our sins, in orderthat we may have their Christian, Scriptural counsel, help andprayers, that we may remain spiritually healthy and in harmonywith the Christian congregation .(4) A false understanding-"The Sacrament of Penance- . . . Thiswhole procedure is usually called, from one of its parts, 'confession' ;. . it is a judicial process in which the penitent is at once the accuser,the person accused, and the witness, while the priest pronouncesjudgment and sentence . . . . the confession is made not in the secrecyof the penitent's heart nor to a layman as friend and advocate,nor to a representative of human authority, but to a duly ordainedpriest with requisite jurisdiction and with the 'power of the keys', i .e .,the power to forgive sins which Christ granted to his church ."-The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1911, Vol . XI, pages 618, 619 .ORIGINTrue confession originated with righteous Abel, who admitted hissins and made a sacrificial offering to God, properly foreshadowingthe ransom-providing sacrifice of Christ .-Heb. 11 :4.The false practice of confessing to priests began in ancient paganBabylon . (See Hislop's The Two Babylons, pages 9, 10_) The falsedoctrine of penance was reconfirmed in the Roman Catholic Churchby the Council of Trent (1551)