“A Good Confession”

Tuesday, April 07, 2020

     Hi; I was reading about what some of the earliest Christians believed, and apparently, in one of their earliest rule books called the Didache, it says that they had to publicly confess all their sins in church to everyone else.  Is this something we still have to do today?  I always thought we could just confess to God if it was something private, and I don't want to have to go in front of my church and tell them everything I've ever done.

Sincerely,
Privacy Please

Dear Privacy Please,

We must follow the Bible, and the Didache isn’t the Bible.  The Didache is part of what is often referred to as ‘second-generation Christian writings’.  Even though it is a historically significant document, it isn’t part of the Bible, it isn’t inspired by God, and we don’t use it to decide what is right and wrong.  The Bible never says that we have to confess our sins in front of the congregation.  It does tell us to confess our sins to God (1 Jn 1:9), but it doesn’t require that we do it publicly or that we do it in every circumstance.  Here are a few circumstances when the Bible says confessing your sins to others should be done:

1. If you have sinned against them, you must admit it and ask for forgiveness (Lk 17:3-4).
2. If you believe the knowledge of your previous sin will help them (1 Tim 1:15-16).
3. If you are struggling with a sin and need help (Jas 5:16, Eccl 4:9).
4. If it would be deceptive to not reveal the sin (1 Jhn 1:8).

But don’t fret about baring all before everyone else; the Didache isn’t the guidebook – the Bible is.

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