God bless.<\/p>\n
I have been a Christian for many years, but I was addicted to porn and I committed fornication against myself (my body). I never had sex with anybody, just myself. I have repented from that sin, and I recognize my sin, so do I need to confess my sin to God only or to my pastor?<\/p>\n\t
Confession of wrong is always done before God (I John 1:9). See:\u00a0Confessing Our Faults<\/a>\u00a0for details. God also encourages us to lean on our brethren when we are struggling with sin. See:\u00a0How detailed does a confession of sin have to be?<\/a>\u00a0God does not require that such a confession needs to be made to a particular person, such as an elder or a preacher.<\/p>\n Pornography is a sin. See:\u00a0A Look at Pornography<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Lies Pornography Tells Men<\/a>. However, masturbation is not fornication. Fornication is a sexual sin done with another person. See: Does “sexual immorality” (porneia) include masturbation?<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: God bless. I have been a Christian for many years, but I was addicted to porn and I committed fornication against myself (my body). I never had sex with anybody, just myself. I have repented from that sin, and I recognize my sin, so do I need to confess my sin to God only…<\/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":[51,226],"class_list":["post-39825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-confession","tag-pornography"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":41831,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-many-people-know-that-someone-was-looking-at-pornography-is-that-a-public-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":39825,"position":0},"title":"If many people know that someone was looking at pornography, is that a public sin?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 11, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am a member of the Lord's church. Would, or could, the sin of viewing pornography be considered a public sin if the person who was guilty was another gospel preacher who had done so over the entire period he served at his congregation, and others in that congregation,\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":33638,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-necessary-to-confess-to-a-preacher-or-elder\/","url_meta":{"origin":39825,"position":1},"title":"Is it necessary to confess to a preacher or elder?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 4, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: When a person has sinned, in particular sexually immoral sins, do they repent only to God?\u00a0 Is it necessary to repent to a person, such as a preacher or an elder? Answer: The purpose of confession is to face the fact that we sinned -- that we are not\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":31352,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-confession-of-sin-only-to-ones-self-or-must-it-be-to-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":39825,"position":2},"title":"Is confession of sin only to one’s self or must it be to God?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 16, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I just read your article: \"How detailed does a confession of sin have to be? Do you need to list out all that you've done wrong?\"\u00a0 We have been discussing this subject for over two months with no end in sight. One side holds to the understanding 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":39825,"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":39825,"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":65451,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-isnt-confession-of-sin-included-in-the-things-required-for-salvation\/","url_meta":{"origin":39825,"position":5},"title":"Why isn’t confession of sin included in the things required for salvation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 6, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Why is the confession of sins not included in the steps to salvation (5 Steps of Salvation)? This question is prompted by verses such as Matthew 3:6, Mark 1:5, Acts 19:18, and James 5:16. Answer: The confession of sin preceded John's baptism (Matthew 3:6; Mark 1:5). 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