{"id":39695,"date":"2021-11-20T17:15:34","date_gmt":"2021-11-20T23:15:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=39695"},"modified":"2021-11-20T17:15:34","modified_gmt":"2021-11-20T23:15:34","slug":"i-dont-want-to-be-sorry-for-the-wrong-reasons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-dont-want-to-be-sorry-for-the-wrong-reasons\/","title":{"rendered":"I don’t want to be sorry for the wrong reasons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

I was raised Catholic and have not been baptized yet as an adult.<\/p>\n

For repentance do we need to go back and set everything right before being forgiven? Must we confess every lie we ever told to every person? Or is asking God to forgive us enough? And to move on from our past. What about lies I have told the police but revealing them would injure innocent parties?<\/p>\n

I’m afraid I’m only sorry for my sins because I fear going to hell. I’m afraid I’m only sorry because I fear the consequences of my sins.\u00a0I don’t want to be sorry for the wrong reasons. I fear I am like Esau, Cain, or Saul.<\/p>\n

If my confession to others would injure others who are innocent in the matter be selfish? Is it biblical to confess sins to others as long as it doesn’t bring harm to innocent parties?<\/p>\n

I have messed up in my past so much, I want to be truly forgiven.<\/p>\n

I have read some people say: ask God for forgiveness and move on fills me with hope and peace. I have read some people say: go back make everything right, ask God for forgiveness. and then move on. It fills me with grief and despair. My sins lay heavily on me.<\/p>\n

Is confession to others only necessary when it’s to restore relationships or is a confession of lies, or sins to others necessary regardless of who it may or may not injure or how long ago it was?<\/p>\n

I have OCD and I do take medication. My Catholic priest, I use to see, told me I was scrupulous. I need to figure out what God wants, not what my OCD wants or possibly a selfish motive to make myself feel better at the expense of others. At the same time, I don’t want to use it as an excuse to just move on and leave the past behind. I get a thought that says you must be accountable. Commit the sin, face the consequences. On the other side I think, Jesus Christ paid it all for me, ask God to forgive you and move on and in the future act differently.<\/p>\n

I’m stuck.<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

It appears to me that you ask multiple sources and, unsurprisingly, get multiple answers. There is only one source for truth (John 17:17). If you measured everything you learned against the standard of the Bible, you wouldn’t be so unsure of what you need to do.<\/p>\n

I made a list of the things God connects with salvation. See\u00a0What Saves a Person?<\/a><\/p>\n

Repentance is changing our minds about the acceptableness of sin and changing our behavior to not sin. In that change, you will want to fix some of the problems you caused in the past, but many things are not fixable. See\u00a0Do I need to fix all my past sins in order to repent? Must I confess sins I did years ago before the church?<\/a> and\u00a0Do I need to confess every sin I committed?<\/a><\/p>\n

The problem Esau, Cain, and Saul had is that they refused to change. See\u00a0Are willful sins irremissible?<\/a><\/p>\n

Confession is about admitting your belief in Christ. There is no requirement to confess your every sin to be saved. See What must I confess before I am baptized? See\u00a0What must I confess before I am baptized?<\/a><\/p>\n

Fear is a perfectly acceptable motivation to share changing your life. “For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death. For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear<\/strong>, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter<\/em>” (II Corinthians 7:10-11). See\u00a0Fear of the Lord<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: I was raised Catholic and have not been baptized yet as an adult. For repentance do we need to go back and set everything right before being forgiven? Must we confess every lie we ever told to every person? Or is asking God to forgive us enough? And to move on from our past.…<\/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_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[51,965,50,966],"class_list":["post-39695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-confession","tag-ocd","tag-repentance","tag-scrupulosity"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":18886,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-there-be-repentance-without-confession\/","url_meta":{"origin":39695,"position":0},"title":"Can there be repentance without confession?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 23, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question about repentance.\u00a0 I have always wondered if there was such a thing as a lack of repentance? For example, when someone lies to another and later on they repent and change their mind about lying, but they don\u2019t want to bring up the details of\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":45623,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-i-have-to-make-a-public-confession-for-sins-that-i-mentioned-to-friends-before-i-repented\/","url_meta":{"origin":39695,"position":1},"title":"Do I have to make a public confession for sins that I mentioned to friends before I repented?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 21, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Please help me. I have been living in fear of sin for so many years now, and the weight of it is becoming more than I can bear. \u00a0I have nobody I can talk to about this, and you are really the only people I can ask about this\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":25893,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-i-need-to-confess-my-adultery-to-my-wife\/","url_meta":{"origin":39695,"position":2},"title":"Do I need to confess my adultery to my wife?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 5, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was looking for an answer to my question, and I ran across your church's web site. I am a troubled person.\u00a0 I need wisdom, and I find it difficult to find direction.\u00a0I know I am to search Scripture, but honestly, I believe I'm still in the place where\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":84045,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-i-need-to-confess-every-lie-i-told\/","url_meta":{"origin":39695,"position":3},"title":"Do I need to confess every lie I told?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 4, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello sir, I have a question that I'm always confused by, and I would greatly appreciate your answer. I have sinned many times, years ago, against my husband, parents, family members, my friends, etc. There are many things I've done that I'm deeply ashamed and remorseful about. I lived\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":28599,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-should-i-say-to-confess-my-fornication\/","url_meta":{"origin":39695,"position":4},"title":"What should I say to confess my fornication?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 22, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I need help with words to ask God and my church and my parents for forgiveness of my fornication. I know I have sinned. I allowed myself to get caught up and I need to ask for forgiveness. I want to write it because I can't stop crying, and\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":54747,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-repentance-is-not\/","url_meta":{"origin":39695,"position":5},"title":"What Repentance Is Not","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 1, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"by Joe R. Price via\u00a0The Spirit's Sword, 2009 The verb translated \"repent\" in the New Testament (metanoeo) literally means \"to perceive afterward\"; so repent means \"to change one's mind or purpose\" (Thayer). God commands all men everywhere to repent of their sins (Acts 17:30). 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