Catholics who defected to a false church are sinning for many reasons, and this is one of them, confession! Because the wolf in sheepskin pastor told them that they have been saved already. So let’s keep on sinning, since we are already saved: how wrong they are!
The sacrament of confession:
Question: A question that is often asked by non-Catholics or even some Catholics who do not appreciate the idea of humbling themselves by confessing their sins to a priest, is “why not confess your sins directly to Jesus”! After all they say, He is the one mediator between God and man, isn’t He? Besides, they complain, confession to a priest is not Biblical.
Response: Of course, one can confess one’s sins directly to God, but if a priest is available than one should confess their sins to him because Christ so ordained it and the Church he founded has been hearing confessions for 2000 years. Did Jesus, who is the one Mediator between God and man, direct us to confess our sins to another person? Since we know that the Old Testament prepared the way for the New Testament, do we find confession of sins there? We do. For example:
Leviticus 19: 20-22: A man who committed adultery had to bring a guilt offering for himself to the door of the tent of meeting (holy place where the ark of the covenant, which contained God’s true presence was kept). But then it adds “And the priest shall make atonement for him …before the Lord for his sin…and the sin which he has committed shall be forgiven.” (see also Leviticus 5: 5-6) The priest could not make atonement if he were not aware of the man’s sin. He is acting as a mediator for the repentant sinner.
The complaint might be, well that is the Old Testament, but now we have Jesus, who suffered for our sins. What does the New Testament have to say?
Matthew 3: 16 (and Mk 1: 5): “. . . they were baptized by him [John the Baptist] in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.” So he who prepared the way for Christ, listened to confessions of sin.
Confession is an act of humility … Accepting that you’re a sinner and imperfect. God’s heart softens when His children renounce their sins and asks for forgiveness through His authorized consecrated souls, our priests.