Essential Question: Why is it better to confess sins publicly? (religious)

Pastor Douglas Wilson of Christ Church supports this with his sermon on sin and forgiveness. A copy of his sermon is found under the title, “Confession of Sin & Forgiveness.” He talks about how the Bible calls us to confess our sins and repent.

A key verse that Pastor Wilson used in his sermon was 1 John 1:9. It states, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” With this verse, Pastor Wilson says that “we [humans] are described as sinful” and that God has told to confess our sins in front of Him (Wilson).

Additionally, because of His unconditional love for everyone, Jesus forgives all of our sin. No matter the sin, as long as we confess, anyone can receive the blessing of forgiveness from a God who wants us to be with Him. Wilson states that if God were counting all the times we’ve sinned, “no one would stand” (Wilson). However, because God loves us so much, He is willing to forgive us, with no conditions. If we tell another person about our sin and wanting to repent, the other person can keep us accountable for ensuring that we don’t make the same mistake again.

The question’s correlation to the Scarlet Letter has to do with Dimmesdale and his secret sin. Unlike Hester, Dimmesdale did not “declare” his sin like Hester did, so he had to keep all that grief bottled up inside of him. Because of that, the grief tore him apart, and Dimmesdale died shortly after he confessed his sin. His failure to confess ended up being his undoing.

Therefore, based on the evidence gained from Pastor Wilson’s sermon, it is our obligation as Christians to confess our sins publicly.