How Many Sins Do I Confess?

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CherieR

CherieR

Senior Member
#1
May 6, 2017
2,271
1,429
113
#1
I'm curious. How many sins am I supposed to confess? I'm not sure on all the details on confession of sins. I make a point to acknowledge His forgiveness, to thank Him for forgiving me and often to fill me with His Spirit and say in so many words I receive the Holy Spirit filling by faith. I also have OCD and anxiety disorders so I don't want to give in to compulsions. How do I practice confession of sins without also giving in to my OCD?
 
Dino246

Dino246

Senior Member
#2
Jun 30, 2015
25,404
13,747
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#2
Normally, I would say, “Once, when you feel convicted for the sin.”

In your case, with your admission of struggle with OCD, I would twice: once in a private journal, with whatever coding is necessary to keep your confession private, and once to the Lord. The journal is your tool to protect yourself against the OCD and against the enemy’s attempts to manipulate you. You can look back and confidently conclude that you have confessed “that” particular sin.
 
Mem

Mem

Senior Member
#3
Sep 23, 2014
7,149
2,167
113
#3
I believe that refusing to acknowledge a thing as sin qualifies as 'unconfessed' sin and agreeing (with the Holy Spirit at the moment He convicts you) that it is sin is as good as standing in an official declaration of your sin. So then, we can easily confess our sin proactively as much as retrospectively. That is, your sin will cause you to confess it, especially that the Holy Spirit will be agreeing alongside you ever presently.
 
FollowerofShiloh

FollowerofShiloh

Well-known member
#4
Jan 24, 2024
4,321
714
113
#4
Jesus taught His Disciples what we call the "Lord's Prayer." It's a every day Prayer. It includes asking for forgiveness. So remembering this Prayer by heart and saying it every day is going to ask for forgiveness of sins.
 
Stan_the_Man

Stan_the_Man

Banned
#5
Dec 29, 2023
1,327
236
63
#5
CherieR said:
How many sins am I supposed to confess?
Click to expand...

ALL of them!

Proverbs 28:13
He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

All your future sins are NOT automatically forgiven before you do the sin. That teaching is a trick of the devil to get people to sin and not confess / forsake their sin.
 
M

Miabella

New member
#6
Mar 2, 2024
12
4
3
#6
Stan_the_Man said:
ALL of them!

Proverbs 28:13
He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

All your future sins are NOT automatically forgiven before you do the sin. That teaching is a trick of the devil to get people to sin and not confess / forsake their sin.
Click to expand...
Yes, all of them
 
T

The_old_guy

Member
#7
Nov 15, 2023
97
32
18
#7
CherieR said:
I'm curious. How many sins am I supposed to confess? I'm not sure on all the details on confession of sins. I make a point to acknowledge His forgiveness, to thank Him for forgiving me and often to fill me with His Spirit and say in so many words I receive the Holy Spirit filling by faith. I also have OCD and anxiety disorders so I don't want to give in to compulsions. How do I practice confession of sins without also giving in to my OCD?
Click to expand...
We all have addictions and compulsions to overcome. We need to claim Jesus' victory in his death to overcome our old natures and his resurrection to replace our old, sinful natures with his gifts of the new-nature qualities, which Paul describes in Colossians 3, Galatians 5, and Ephesians 4.
 
Stan_the_Man

Stan_the_Man

Banned
#9
Dec 29, 2023
1,327
236
63
#9
The_old_guy said:
We all have addictions and compulsions to overcome.
Click to expand...

That should NOT be true for the mature believer. Maybe a baby Christians still in diapers

Galatians 5:24
And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

What makes us children of God is IF we answer the Father's call to abide in Christ having turned away from our old life of sin and walk with Him in newness of life

Ephesians 5:1
Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;

Ephesians 4:22-24
put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Romans 13:14
put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

Colossians 3:10
And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created Him:

2 Corinthians 6:17
come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.

This is what baptism is supposed to be about... making a covenant with the Lord, a public declaration of faith, a commitment to put off the old man and put on the new man and to walk in newness of life

Romans 6:4
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

We are called to cooperate with the Lord, to be co-laboroers with Him. He made us in His Image, so we have free will... the Lord desires for us to willingly choose to turn away from our old life of sin and come abide In Christ and not turn away, ever!

1 Corinthians 3:9
We are laborers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.

It's God's work, His power, His ability... but WE have to choose to accept His offer to be His children and turn from darkness to walk with Him in the Light.

John 1:12
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

2 Corinthians 5:21
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Getting born again is the introduction and the starting point and if one truly believes and dies moments after getting born again, yes they would go to Heaven.

But few die immediately after getting born again so it remains to be seen... will WE to choose to accept His offer to be His children and turn from darkness to walk with Him abiding In Him until the end of our lives so that we might be saved???

Matthew 24:13
But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Endure to the end as in... DON'T fall away!
 
L

LeeLoving

Member
#10
Sep 24, 2012
604
160
43
#10
CherieR said:
I'm curious. How many sins am I supposed to confess? I'm not sure on all the details on confession of sins. I make a point to acknowledge His forgiveness, to thank Him for forgiving me and often to fill me with His Spirit and say in so many words I receive the Holy Spirit filling by faith. I also have OCD and anxiety disorders so I don't want to give in to compulsions. How do I practice confession of sins without also giving in to my OCD?
Click to expand...
Well, once you think you have sinned I think you should confess it. One thing should follow the next, unless I'm wrong somehow. I don't know how this would be giving in to a compulsion, it's just confessing a sin.
 
Pilgrimshope

Pilgrimshope

Well-known member
#11
Sep 2, 2020
13,958
5,661
113
#11
CherieR said:
I'm curious. How many sins am I supposed to confess? I'm not sure on all the details on confession of sins. I make a point to acknowledge His forgiveness, to thank Him for forgiving me and often to fill me with His Spirit and say in so many words I receive the Holy Spirit filling by faith. I also have OCD and anxiety disorders so I don't want to give in to compulsions. How do I practice confession of sins without also giving in to my OCD?
Click to expand...
You have to let go of what’s behind you and start living in the day . Then as you live sometimes you’ll realize you’ve done something wrong and you’ll feel it

you confess sin when your aware that it’s sin

“Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”
‭‭James‬ ‭4:17‬ ‭

then we would repent and confess whatever it was that was on the conscience that’s convicting us that we’ve done something wrong

when we confess we do it because we’re repenting inside over what we’ve done
 
T

The_old_guy

Member
#12
Nov 15, 2023
97
32
18
#12
Stan_the_Man said:
That should NOT be true for the mature believer. Maybe a baby Christians still in diapers

Galatians 5:24
And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

What makes us children of God is IF we answer the Father's call to abide in Christ having turned away from our old life of sin and walk with Him in newness of life

Ephesians 5:1
Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;

Ephesians 4:22-24
put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Romans 13:14
put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

Colossians 3:10
And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created Him:

2 Corinthians 6:17
come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.

This is what baptism is supposed to be about... making a covenant with the Lord, a public declaration of faith, a commitment to put off the old man and put on the new man and to walk in newness of life

Romans 6:4
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

We are called to cooperate with the Lord, to be co-laboroers with Him. He made us in His Image, so we have free will... the Lord desires for us to willingly choose to turn away from our old life of sin and come abide In Christ and not turn away, ever!

1 Corinthians 3:9
We are laborers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.

It's God's work, His power, His ability... but WE have to choose to accept His offer to be His children and turn from darkness to walk with Him in the Light.

John 1:12
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

2 Corinthians 5:21
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Getting born again is the introduction and the starting point and if one truly believes and dies moments after getting born again, yes they would go to Heaven.

But few die immediately after getting born again so it remains to be seen... will WE to choose to accept His offer to be His children and turn from darkness to walk with Him abiding In Him until the end of our lives so that we might be saved???

Matthew 24:13
But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Endure to the end as in... DON'T fall away!
Click to expand...
Hey, I'm 81 and have been a believer since I was 16. God has brought me through a lot of suffering and trials. He has also enabled me to grow in my outward life; but the more I grow, he reveals old-nature, inner qualities I need to replace with new-nature qualities according to Colossians 3, Galatians 5, and Ephesians 5. Let me tell you, we never stop replacing the old nature with the new nature, including mature believers, until God calls us home. We never become perfect in this life (see Philippians 3--even Paul said he wasn't perfect yet).
 
I

Inquisitor

Well-known member
#13
Mar 17, 2022
2,912
852
113
#13
The_old_guy said:
Hey, I'm 81 and have been a believer since I was 16. God has brought me through a lot of suffering and trials. He has also enabled me to grow in my outward life; but the more I grow, he reveals old-nature, inner qualities I need to replace with new-nature qualities according to Colossians 3, Galatians 5, and Ephesians 5. Let me tell you, we never stop replacing the old nature with the new nature, including mature believers, until God calls us home. We never become perfect in this life (see Philippians 3--even Paul said he wasn't perfect yet).
Click to expand...
That's the truth.

That inner conflict between the flesh and the Spirit never ceases.
 
Stan_the_Man

Stan_the_Man

Banned
#14
Dec 29, 2023
1,327
236
63
#14
The_old_guy said:
Let me tell you, we never stop replacing the old nature with the new nature, including mature believers, until God calls us home. We never become perfect in this life (see Philippians 3--even Paul said he wasn't perfect yet).
Click to expand...

That does not mean we have license to sin as so many supposes in the dark day we are living in.
 
Aaron56

Aaron56

Well-known member
#15
Jul 12, 2021
2,788
1,590
113
#15
I'm curious. How many sins am I supposed to confess?
Click to expand...

IMG_1550.gif

In all seriousness, the ones that come to your mind. Don’t labor over this. The Lord will remind you of what’s important.
 
Stan_the_Man

Stan_the_Man

Banned
#16
Dec 29, 2023
1,327
236
63
#16
And one can do a blanket confession that covers all sins whether they are known or unknown.
 
Pilgrimshope

Pilgrimshope

Well-known member
#17
Sep 2, 2020
13,958
5,661
113
#17
Stan_the_Man said:
And one can do a blanket confession that covers all sins whether they are known or unknown.
Click to expand...
repentance should lead to confession

“And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭6:5-6‬ ‭

When we are sorry about what we’ve done it will lead us to repentance of which confession is a part



“Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.”
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭7:9-11‬ ‭

If I steal from you and I’m not sorry about it confession of sin becomes mute and meaningless because there’s no repentance involved over what I’ve done and am confessing

we should repent when we realize we’ve don’t wrong tbat leads to confessing and having the sins washed away. It isn’t a rule it’s a living way of life to walk in reoentance over sin

when a Christian sins and is aware that they have sinned it should sting should bring some sorrow some feeling of failure or grievance of hesrt because that’s the thing that leads to true confession when we are troubled over what we’ve done wrong everything with God needs to come from the heart
 
T

The_old_guy

Member
#18
Nov 15, 2023
97
32
18
#18
Stan_the_Man said:
That does not mean we have license to sin as so many supposes in the dark day we are living in.
Click to expand...
Of course not. The Spirit within us creates the new birth and growing new life within us from the Father through Jesus to motivate us to follow his ways, not our own.
 
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