How to Become a Christian<\/a>.<\/p>\nIf a Christian sins, then he must change both his attitude and behavior to be as God desires (II Corinthians 7:10-11). He also has to confess his sin to God (I John 1:9). He ought to also find fellow Christians to talk to so that he can find support in overcoming sin (James 5:16).<\/p>\n
When a Christian knows another has sinned, he is required to talk to the sinner in hopes of turning the person away from sin and back to God. “Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted<\/em>” (Galatians 6:1).<\/p>\nHere is where it gets awkward. We try hard to keep the embarrassment of having sinned to a minimum when a sinner repents. “My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins<\/em>” (James 5:19-20). That is what is meant by “cover a multitude of sins<\/em>.” We don’t hide the fact that a sinner is sinning, but when someone has left sin, we drop the matter. However, when sin is widely known to have happened, how do the brethren know if it has been repented of or not?<\/p>\nWhen a person repents of his sins, he should let those he has wronged know that he has changed so that any hardships caused by his sin can be resolved. This can be handled by going to each person individually, but some prefer to let everyone know at once so the topic can be put aside. That is where we get the practice of offering people a chance to let the congregation know of repented sins at the end of services. It is not required. It is a matter of convenience.<\/p>\n
To be clear, the sin in your example is not the pregnancy. The sin was the fornication that has been taking place. The child that resulted was the consequence of sexual sin but is not the actual sin. The fact that an unmarried woman is clearly pregnant merely indicates that sin has taken place. But even here, without asking, you don’t know if the pregnancy was the result of a rape or consensual sex. The person needs to be talked to because we want her to reach heaven.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: If someone got pregnant and she and her boyfriend are not married, do they have to confess this as a public sin? If so please give me a scripture for it. Thanks! Answer: Since we are interested in biblical answers, let us first note that God doesn’t divide sins into public and private sins…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[51,1572],"class_list":["post-16733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-confession","tag-fornication"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":42298,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/am-i-obligated-to-confess-mortal-sins-i-didnt-know-were-wrong\/","url_meta":{"origin":16733,"position":0},"title":"Am I obligated to confess mortal sins I didn’t know were wrong?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 23, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question about not confessing sins. As a kid, I really only thought mortal sins were things like not killing people, not stealing from people, not cheating on your wife, etc. I didn't really know about other mortal sins at that time. To be a mortal sin,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4997,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-someone-be-forgiven-if-he-purposely-sins\/","url_meta":{"origin":16733,"position":1},"title":"Can someone be forgiven if he purposely sins?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 10, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My friend lost his virginity because he wanted to. The person he did it with had already done it a couple of times. He felt really bad because he is a Christian. Can God forgive him if he confesses to a priest? Answer: Confession to a priest is a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":39441,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-a-christian-sins-does-he-stop-being-a-christian\/","url_meta":{"origin":16733,"position":2},"title":"When a Christian sins, does he stop being a Christian?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 25, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: When a Christian sins, are they automatically rejected by God? Does this mean they are no longer a Christian\u00a0until\u00a0they repent? Answer: Men put up a barrier between themselves and God with their sins. \"Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":39697,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-must-i-confess-before-i-am-baptized\/","url_meta":{"origin":16733,"position":3},"title":"What must I confess before I am baptized?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 24, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Let me start off by thanking you for all that you do in the name of Jesus Christ. A few weeks ago I had prayed to God asking for guidance in finding the true church of which I can become a part so that I may further my understanding\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18102,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-we-need-to-redo-our-confession-before-the-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":16733,"position":4},"title":"Do we need to redo our confession before the church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 9, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear Preacher, I must thank you for the wonderful work you are doing to help the churches of Christ. I have an issue that I would like you to help me with. I fornicated with a lady in church, and she is pregnant. We spoke to church elders about\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28825,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-happens-if-sin-is-not-confessed-immediately-and-the-sinner-dies\/","url_meta":{"origin":16733,"position":5},"title":"What happens if sin is not confessed immediately and the sinner dies?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 4, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How does I John 2:1 work for believers? One commentator talks of consent for the advocate to succeed but sometimes believers don't get convicted of their sins immediately, for example, David in II Samuel 11 and 12. Does this mean his advocacy will not avail them? 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