What does Scripture say about confession to a Priest?

Classically, we use the following two verses to support the Doctrine of Priestly confession:

James 5:  The Prayer of Faith

13 Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. 14 Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.

John 20:  Receive the Holy Spirit

22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.  23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

However, I see the Sacrament of Confession (i.e. Reconciliation) explicitly described here:

Hebrews 13:17Obey your leaders

17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls and will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with sighing—for that would be harmful to you.

And, explicitly mentioned, here:

2 Corinthians 5 The Ministry of Reconciliation

18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself,[d] not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. 20 So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

7QT's on the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

Matthew Chapter 18:21-35

Peter approached Jesus and asked him,
“Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive him?
As many as seven times?”

St. Peter came to Jesus with a question of forgiveness.  He wanted to know how many times one should forgive his brother.

Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.

Jesus said, there is no limit to how many times you must forgive your brethren.

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Then He told Peter a parable.

That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants.
When he began the accounting,  a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount.
Since he had no way of paying it back,
his master ordered him to be sold,
along with his wife, his children, and all his property,
in payment of the debt.

There was a man who owed the King a great deal of money which he could not repay.  So the King ordered the man be apprehended, he and his family.  He also ordered that he and his family be sold off in payment of the debt.

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At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’
Moved with compassion the master of that servant
let him go and forgave him the loan.

At this the man fell to the floor and begged for mercy, promising that he would repay the King in time.  The King was touched by this pleading and forgave the entire debt.

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When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount.
He seized him and started to choke him, demanding,
‘Pay back what you owe.’  Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him,  ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’  But he refused.  Instead, he had him put in prison  until he paid back the debt.

Upon leaving the King's presence, the man observed a person who owed him money.  He immediately grabbed the person, choking him and demanded to be paid.  The person begged for mercy and time to pay him back.  But the man would have none of it and had the person thrown in jail.

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Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened,
they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master
and reported the whole affair.

Other people saw the whole thing and went and reported to the King.

--- 5 ---

His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant!  I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.  Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’  Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt.

Upon learning this, the King had the man seized to whom he had originally forgiven the debt.  And he said to him, "I forgave you more than you could ever repay.  Shouldn't you have learned from my example and forgiven your brother as I forgave you?  But since you did not, then you will be cast into jail until you can repay the debt you owe."  And this time, he was handed over to torturers until he should pay back the whole debt.

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So will my heavenly Father do to you,
unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart.”

Jesus concluded the lesson saying, "this is what will happen to you if yon don't forgive your brothers from your heart."

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The King is God of course.  And we, Christians, are the debtors who stand before the Throne of God in the Sacraments, begging God's forgiveness.  And He lavishly forgives us all our sins.  Washing them away in the waters of Baptism and in Confession, Confirmation, Eucharist, and Anointing.

But if we who have been thus forgiven turn around and hold grudges against our neighbors who have asked us their forgiveness and who perhaps do not have the ability to make amends.  Then you can forget that you ever washed your sins away in the waters of grace provided by the Holy Spirit.  You will be surprised to find yourself besieged by the devil and his angels after God refuses you entrance into the heavenly Jerusalem.

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Pew Missal

The forgiveness of sins is not some automatic thing which happened to everyone when Jesus died on the Cross.

Lutero:
demaria,
No. We are forgiven under the gospel message.
You are making my case for me.

Who is forgiven? Answer: Those who obey Jesus.

Hebrews 5:9

King James Version (KJV)
⁹ And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

And what does Jesus command? Baptism:

Mark 16:16

King James Version (KJV)
¹⁶ He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

And what does Baptism do for us? Wash away our sins:

Acts 22:16

King James Version (KJV)
¹⁶ And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

That is when our sins are forgiven. And of course, when we ask forgiveness.

The forgiveness of sins is not some automatic thing which happened to everyone when Jesus died on the Cross. Otherwise hell would not exist.

Sincerely,

De Maria

7 Quick Takes on Justification

7 Quick Takes on Justification

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There are two valid definitions for “Justification”.

1. The forgiveness of sins
2. A declaration of righteousness

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There are also two ways that one is justified.

The first is accomplished in the Sacraments, when our sins are washed away as we call upon Christ's name (Acts 22:16). This is justification by faith apart from works.

The second is accomplished at the Judgment Seat of Christ where we will be judged for all that we have done in the Body, whether good or bad (2 Corinthians 5:10). This is justification by faith and works.

--- 3 ---

Justification by faith and works is also the preparation of man for the reception of grace in the Sacraments: 

2001 The preparation of man for the reception of grace is already a work of grace. This latter is needed to arouse and sustain our collaboration in justification through faith, and in sanctification through charity. God brings to completion in us what he has begun, "since he who completes his work by cooperating with our will began by working so that we might will it:" Indeed we also work, but we are only collaborating with God who works, for his mercy has gone before us. It has gone before us so that we may be healed, and follows us so that once healed, we may be given life; it goes before us so that we may be called, and follows us so that we may be glorified; it goes before us so that we may live devoutly, and follows us so that we may always live with God: for without him we can do nothing. http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/2001.htm

An adult who converts to the faith of Jesus Christ, must justify himself in preparation for the Sacraments by performing works worthy of penance. He performs these good works by exercising faith in God. Just as we exercise our muscles, this strengthens his faith making him more open to receive the sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit which transforms him according to his faith. He is then sent out again to continue doing the works which God prepared for him from the beginning of time and continue to exercise and enlarge his faith so that he becomes more open and properly disposed to receive more Sanctifying grace which is imparted by the Sacraments.

Which is completely consistent with Scripture which says, only doers of the law will be justified (Romans 2:13) apart from the works of the law (Romans 3:28).

     --- 4 ---

Luther confused Justification by faith apart from works with faith alone.

When St. Paul said, “justified by faith apart from works”, Luther interpreted that as faith “alone”: But that s not what St. Paul meant. St. Paul was teaching the justification which occurs in the Sacraments.

Let me explain:

St. Paul taught the Catholic Teaching that only those who do the works of the Law are justified:

Romans 2:13
King James Version (KJV)
13(For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

In Catholic Teaching, we are justified by faith and works. That is the foundation and root of all justification. Faith is expressed and perfected in works.

However, the Church also teaches that we are justified in the Sacraments where we are washed in sanctifying grace. Especially Baptism. Sacraments are God’s mighty works. We don’t do anything except submit to His works in the proper dispostion, which is that of faith.

This is the Justification by faith apart from works to which St. Paul referred.

The process is evident in every semester of RCIA. By faith, we seek the Lord and study to show ourselves approved. Only those who undergo this process are then JUSTIFIED in Baptism.

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Justification by faith apart from works succinctly describes the Sacraments of Baptism,
Reconciliation, Confirmation, Anointing and Eucharist.

The Catholic Church teaches that the Sacraments are Works of God: 

740 These "mighty works of God," offered to believers in the sacraments of the Church, bear their fruit in the new life in Christ, according to the Spirit. (This will be the topic of Part Three.)

987 "In the forgiveness of sins, both priests and sacraments are instruments which our Lord Jesus Christ, the only author and liberal giver of salvation, wills to use in order to efface our sins and give us the grace of justification" (Roman Catechism, I, 11, 6).

This is also what Scripture calls justification by grace (Romans 3:24). And justification by faith apart from works (Gal 2:16). It is the reason why we walk on Mt. Sion with the Saints (Heb 12:22-24). It is the advantage which Christians who are baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit have over all other nations and creeds. The Sacraements are pre-Judgment events.

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Scripture tells us that God selects and justifies only from the group of men who do the works of the law.  

Not from those who do not keep His Law.

Salvation by faith and works is the teaching of Scripture:
Romans 2:
King James Version (KJV)
6Who will render to every man according to his deeds:7To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:

Romans 2:13
(For not the he
arers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

Romans 8:7-8
7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

In other words, doing the law doesn't automatically justify anyone. But not doing the law automatically condemns. Because those who are justified will only come from the set of people who do the works of the law.


Example:
A man is an unrepentant murderer and sinner. He will never be justified by God because he rejects the law. He will be condemned. Scripture says elsewhere:

1 John 3:4
Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

Therefore, if you read Romans 2, it says:

Romans 2

⁴Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

⁵But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

⁶Who will render to every man according to his deeds:

⁷To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:

⁸But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,

⁹Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;

¹⁰But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:

¹¹For there is no respect of persons with God.

A man keeps the law in obedience to Christ:

Galatians 3:24

King James Version (KJV)

²⁴Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

Which brings us to the Sacraments. For one must have faith in order to be justified and Baptism is the washing of regeneration and the renewal of the Holy Spirit. One can't approach Baptism without faith demonstrated in works of love.

--- 7 ---

Therefore, faith and works are the basis of all justification.

a. Because only those who believe God’s promises will be justified by God in the Sacraments (Mark 16:16; 1 Cor 11:28-29).
b. And only those who prove their faith by works of love will be justified by God (Romans 2:13; Gal 5:6).
c. And of course, it is the basis of our justification before the Just Judge on the Last Day, when God will bring to light what all men have done:

1 Corinthians 4:5
Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.

But Justification by faith apart from works and Justification by faith and works are seamlessly combined in the Catholic Sacramental System.  (Read More)

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Justification, forgiveness and works

Justification, literally, is to be made righteous (or just) in the eyes of God.  It is simultaneously, the process of Sanctification.  Being made right in the eyes of God, we are made holy.  Sanctified.

The entire process begins, in my opinion, with the process of "sanctification".  Turning to and seeking God.  At this point, one begins to seek justification but has already begun the process of sanctification because in seeking God, one acts in a holy manner.

What comes first? Faith, repentance or forgiveness?

What comes first? Faith, repentance or forgiveness? 

I am of the opinion that God first gives us the grace of faith. Then, we begin to seek God. Study His Word and obey His Commandments (i.e. His Law). Then, realizing that we have sinned, we repent and ask for Him to forgive us.