Why Not Confess Straight to God?

One of the most common questions asked of Catholics concerns the Sacrament of Confession.  It goes like this:

Why do you have to confess your sins to a priest - why can't you go straight to God?

Now, the Catholic Church does hold that you can have your sins forgiven outside the sacrament of Confession.  However, it does teach that the ordinary way which Christ intended to  bestow the forgiveness of sins was through the ministry of the priest.  So it's an objection which is worth answering.

Today I want to give my take on it by examining three assumptions standing behind the question.  Let's dive in.

The "Why" is Secondary:


When asked this question, the first thing I want to do is back it up a step and challenge the first hidden premise.  The person seems to be saying the following:

“If I cannot see the necessity of a religious practice, I am free to dispense with it.”

Well… that’s not really the case.  And I like to illustrate that by proposing the following situation:

Suppose Jesus manifested Himself to you and gave you a bizarre, seemingly useless object.  Something like this:

He solemnly instructs you to keep this bizarre object and use it to the best of your ability.  What do you do?

Do you say, “Lord, I know you want me to have this… but I don’t see why.  You can keep it.”

Or do you say, “Yes, Lord.  I’ll keep it.  But can you tell me what it’s for?”

Any sincere Christian should choose the second option because our disposition toward Jesus should be obedience.  Therefore, we cannot dispense with anything instituted by Christ, even if we find it bizarre and unnecessary.  The very fact that He gave us something is reason enough to keep it. 

So this question of, “Why do we need to confess to a priest” is starting off on the wrong step.  First we need to ask, “Did Jesus establish something by which His official representative hears and forgives sins in His name?”  

And the answer there is… YES.  In John’s Gospel, after the resurrection, we read the following:

"So Jesus said to them again, 'Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.' And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.'” - John 20:21-23

Efficiency Isn't the Goal:

However, one needn’t propose that Confession is a mysterious cypher.  Its purpose is fairly straightforward.

This brings us to the second hidden assumption in the “why do I have to confess to a priest” question: 

"Jesus would surely have desired us to have the fastest and most efficient means for reconciliation.  Anything else would just be un-American."

But consider how the whole mission of Jesus wasn’t very efficient.  He spent most of his adult life in Galilee working as a carpenter.  Why not start earlier?  Why not rise from the dead on Saturday morning?  Heck, why not just forgive our sins outright and eschew that messy crucifixion business?

Well, perhaps efficiency wasn’t Jesus’ main objective.  Maybe He did things the way He did… because it was best suited for our nature.

That’s the lens through which we need to view Confession.  Instead of asking if there is a more efficient way… we need to ask if there is benefit to examining one’s conscience, admitting sins to another human being, and audibly hearing the words of forgiveness from an authorized ambassador of Christ.

In that case, the psychological and pastoral benefits could go on for pages.

Ambassadors as the Real Thing:

The third and final assumption is this:

"There is a dichotomy between Confessing 'straight to God' versus confessing to an authorized ambassador.  You must choose one or the other."

But is this dichotomy consonant with the mind of Scripture?

Well… no.  Throughout the Bible we see how speaking to an authorized representative is treated as equivalent to talking to the person being represented.  I’ll give three instances.

When you look at it with this principle in mind, you see the dichotomy between confessing to a priest versus confessing “straight to God” is a false one.  To do the former is to do the latter.

Angel or God? 

The first one is from the calling of Gideon in the book of Judges.  Notice how the text shifts from saying he’s addressing an angel to addressing the Lord Himself.

"The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. 'When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, 'The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.'

'Pardon me, my lord,' Gideon replied, 'but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?[...]'

The Lord turned to him and said, 'Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?'” - Judges 6:11:-14

Mother or Sons?

The second one is from the Gospels.  Prior to Jesus’ final entry into Jerusalem, He was approached with a request on behalf of James and John.  But who made the request?

"Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. 'Teacher,' they said, 'we want you to do for us whatever we ask.'” - Mark 10:35

"The mother of Zebedee’s children (James and John) came to Jesus with her sons. She got down on her knees before Jesus to ask something of Him." - Matthew 20:20

Peter or God?

Lastly, in the book of Acts we find an unfortunate incident in which a fella lied to Peter regarding his charitable donations.  But who does Peter say the man actually lied to?

"But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. 

But Peter said, 'Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.'” - Acts 5:1-5

When Ananias lied to Peter, he lied to God.  Likewise when you confess to a priest, you confess to God.

And with that, the objection evaporates entirely.