Since God already knows our sin, when we confess we are just agreeing with Him that sin is wrong and we need cleansing and forgiveness which was already give us at the Cross.
Confessing before men gets down to our ego and afraid we will get caught doing something that will make our image tarnished. Also we know others won't forgive as God does. Even in our own forgiveness of others we are not like God when it comes to forgiveness. Knowing this we don't trust others as we do God.
Either Christ did the work on the Cross or He did not. Who's responsibility it to cleanse us from all unrighteousness?
1 John 1:7-10 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
Old things are passed away and behold all things are become new. If we have confessed our sin to God and He has forgiven us what good will it do to confess to men?
Jam 5:16 Confess [your] faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
This is not something you do before you go to God. If you have prayer partners who know you well and you have faults and sins you have questions about go to them and pray, "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." Go to God in prayer and He by the Holy Spirit will reveal even sin we don't know we have and by that revelation we can repent and receive cleansing and knowing that God is faithful, that He will cleans us form all unrighteousness in Christ.
You See only Spirit filled and born again believers can repent. The unrighteous and unregenerate sinners don't have the ability to repent. They have no one to reveal it to them, the Born Again can be convicted by the Holy Spirit and repentance is changing our mind and doing it God's way.
If We pray for the unsaved, it is the Holy Spirits responsibility to convict them of the need of a savior. Then after new birth and the baptism into the Holy Spirit conviction and revelation is possible and then we can repent.
Sometimes if you confess your sins to other especially in a group, how do you know that the whole group is saved and if not Satan can get a foothold in the group. It is best to know very well your people to whom you confess your faults to and pray with about personal sin. Some people us this type of confession for ego purposes to show other how righteous they are in confessing their sins.
This is confession to God: 1 John 1:9 266. hamartia
Search for G266 in KJVSL
amartia hamartia ham-ar-tee'-ah
from 264; a sin (properly abstract):--offence, sin(-ful)
This is confession to men: James 5:16 3900. paraptoma
Search for G3900 in KJVSL
paraptwma paraptoma par-ap'-to-mah
from 3895; a side-slip (lapse or deviation), i.e. (unintentional) error or (wilful) transgression:--fall, fault, offence, sin, trespass.
See the difference.
In Christ: Phillip
