Quote (njaguar @ May 26 2012 06:25pm)
You're all over the place on this topic. Can you please clarify what your question is? There are many scriptural areas that show confession should be continued after salvation (James, etc). If you are just contending that confession should be between you and God, then you're just rehashing the same arguments of Protestant vs. Catholic that's been ongoing for hundreds of years. If you're saying confession isn't necessary at all (even to God directly), I'm sure most Christians would label you a heretic.
Acts 16:31
New International Version (NIV)
31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved —you and your household.”
The gift of salvation is free. As long as we have faith in the Lord, we have salvation. There are no strings attached to this gift. There is no Belief in the Lord Jesus Christ and live a pure life and confess your sins to a priest to receive salvation. In fact, it was said that all believers are priests. There is only one High Priest, there is only one mediator between us and God, and that is Jesus Christ. You call heresy following the bible to the fullest extend? It is heresy to follow man made doctrine and not God made doctrine. I am only trying to separate man made doctrine from the doctrine of God so I know what to believe and how to receive salvation. Going to confession is like saying the gift that Jesus Christ gave us is not enough, the gift of salvation based on faith, and faith alone, not works, as has been stated in the bible that works will get you no where because the idea that salvation is gained through works is an idea of the old covenant and God knew the old covenant would never work because as long as one law would be broken, they all would be broken, and no one on earth has lived a perfect life except Jesus Christ, because he is the son of God, and was sent here to save us from sin, for all time.
James 2:10
New International Version (NIV)
10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.
2 Timothy 1:9
New International Version (NIV)
9 He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,
Hebrews 10
11 Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. 14 For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
15 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:
16 “This is the covenant I will make with them
after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds.”[B]17 Then he adds:
“Their sins and lawless acts
I will remember no more.”[c]
Please, if you have something to refute my claims, please state them, I don't claim to know everything about the bible, I am just asking you to show me something to refute my claims so that we may grow as Christians. Where in the bible does it say we must confess our sins to a priest to receive salvation? You can not give me scripture on this because it does not exist. Are we not all a holy priesthood and Jesus Christ our one and only High Priest and mediator to the father? How is it heresy to follow the Bible word for word? Is it not heresy to follow man made doctrine and not God made doctrine? That is why I am here. I want to separate God made doctrine from man made doctrine so that I can live a pure life, and I might argue that, a pure life is based on faith, and not works, because works don't matter as has been previously stated and proved by scripture. Let us continue our conversation to discover the truth. The truth is in the bible.
1 Peter 2
New International Version (NIV)
2 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
The Living Stone and a Chosen People
4 As you come to him, the living Stone —rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house[a] to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.”[b]
7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
“The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,”[c]
8 and,
“A stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.”[d]
They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
This post was edited by DCEVO on May 26 2012 09:20pm