I've been thinking and reading about justification and atonement lately, and this has been troubling me. Is forgiveness of present sin dependent upon our confession? The idea of happening to die before confessing a mortal sin (in Catholicism - or, in Orthodoxy, any sin) and thereby ending up in hell is absolutely horrifying. It seems to me that would lead to frenzied legalism.
I don't think that forgiveness is dependent upon confession any more than forgiveness is dependent on
any one hoop to jump through. Forgiveness, rather, is something that comes from God when we are in a relationship with him. I really try to reject the idea of formulaic Christianity, so please understand that though I am going to break it down into different cases, this doesn't mean that if you just follow one of these recipes word-for-word that I think you will go to heaven. But with that said, I see three main situations:
* You are a sinner and you have never had a relationship with God
* You were in a relationship with God at one time, but a consistent, recurring sin has drawn you from that relationship
* You are in a relationship with God, but you have sinned and fallen short of what that relationship has called you to
For the first point, I believe that your response should be like that of the listening Jews in Acts 2. Beginning in verse 37:
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When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call." With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
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Realize what your sin has done--this is being cut to the heart--and then repent and be baptized to receive the forgiveness of your sins.
For the second point, I think God's instructions to the nation of Israel in 2 Chronicles 7:14 are appropriate here:
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...if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
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In this case you don't need to be baptized because you already
were, but you still need repentance. Note that this verse doesn't say anything about confession. It can and should be noted that this is God speaking to the nation as a whole whose sins were already well-known. I think that as part of humbling yourself and repenting, confession and accountability can help in turning from wicked ways. It's easy to keep sinning when you're the only one who knows about it. It's a lot harder when you know someone's going to call you up in an hour and ask how you're doing with your sin. I think that the words of Jesus to Ephesus in Revelation 2:5 are also appropriate here: "Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place."
For the third point, I think it's important to understand that just as for us as humans committing sins is an ongoing condition, so should repentance and confession be ongoing. Look at 1 John 1, starting in verse 7:
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This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
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If we walk in the light, we are purified of sin. Purification is part of the ongoing relationship with God. If we look at Ephesians 5:11-14, an important part of walking in the light involves exposure--confession.
Now that we've laid this foundation, it's hopefully more clear where we can go with this. It's not that confession is a hoop that you have to jump through to get to heaven so much as an attitude of the one who is walking in a right relationship with God. If you die after sinning without confessing it, well, it's not that you're automatically consigned to hell for eternity. It's more that if you are in a relationship with God your heart will be one of Godly sorrow (2 Cor 7) and you will feel burdened to repent. God will know your heart of repentance
because you are in a relationship with him. He doesn't say to the sinners "depart, for you didn't repent of your sin", he says "depart, for I never knew you".
